Unbowed, Unbent and Unbroken
by blackfoxX10
Summary: The soft susurration of wind at dawn became a fierce howl as his long white hair got swept. "When I look at her, I see this whole other life. A life I know I'd never have if I go back. She taught me to value lives, but war requires sacrifices. This world.. is full of evil, lies and pain and death. And you can't hide from it, only face it." whispered Naruto to himself.
1. Chapter 1

_**Unbowed, Unbent and Unbroken**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Where it all began**

* * *

She gazed upon the black endless horizon with a serene expression on her face. A look which gave off the feeling of acceptance. The starry night often gave her comfort amidst the tension and diplomacy that had begun to revolve in her clan since the past hundreds of years.

"The planets and stars seem closer to our home tonight." She whispered. Her soft-spoken words drifted into the horizon as she stood all alone beside one of the gigantic trees that was sacred to the members of her clan. She grazed her right hand through her sweeping white hair which she had inherited from her mother. The thought often crossed her mind and made her wonder as to what type of women her mother was and if she would approve of her decision.

A few minutes later she felt a presence behind her but she didn't move from her stance. Seconds ticked along as if they were years, but none of them spoke a word. While she kept gazing upon the beautiful planet that had a light shade of purple, he kept his eyes focused on her.

"I take it that you have made your choice?" asked the man with a deep voice. He had an extremely pale skin with delicate facial features. He possessed clear white eyes and his eyebrows were cut short- a symbol of his nobility. He wore a high collared kimono which had tomoe running down the center and the edges of the gown. He also wore flat shoes on his feet which were upturned at the toes. However, the man's most prominent feature was the red eye that was in the middle of his forehead. A red eye with three ripples spreading over the eyeball and three tomoes in each of the ripple.

"I must leave this place, Akimitsu-sama." She said softly. There was no regret in those words, no hurt. Just a simple statement.

"I have reminded you many times, you don't have to call me that." Said Akimitsu with a shake of his head. Walking a few steps forward, he stood beside her and too gazed upon the majestic sight in the sky. The celestial sight that displayed the smudgy star filled part of the night sky was simply artistic in nature.

"The way, some of the higher ups in the clan want to proceed with the clan's future is not what I had been taught and made to believe. I don't want to have any part in that Otōsan. The war that Momoshiki-sama is going to start will be inevitable soon. You know that well. I suppose it's a good thing that Kaa-san isn't here to witness hers' and yours' creations get destroyed." She stated honestly.

"I understand. And, I'm not going to stop you. You have my word that the others will not find out where you will head to. But, be wary of what may lie in the future, my daughter." Replied Akimitsu, a bit solemnly. Turning towards the man, who had raised her since birth, she gave him a respectable nod.

"I want to get away from here and create my own world. A place devoid of any wars. A place where I hope to protect the Shinju better than I could in our home." She said earnestly. Akimitsu nodded his head, showing his support. Snapping his fingers with his left hand, he opened a blackish looking portal. Having one last glance at her father and her home, she stepped into a portal which opened beside her and disappeared from the land she grew up in.

Now, standing alone under the starry sky, he gazed far into the night sky with a sad smile. He may not know exactly what lay in the future, but his foresight was rarely ever wrong. And one thing he knew for sure was that his days were numbered and that one day an Otsutsuki child will be born who will bring forth a principal change for the Otsutsuki Clan and for all the worlds.

"I hope you forgive me for what I may have to do in the times to come, my dear Kaguya." Were the last words of the current head of the Otsutsuki Clan, Akimitsu Otsutsuki before he too disappeared from the spot.

* * *

 _ **Two Years Later, on Earth**_

In a small room with the only source of light as a single lit candle, sat a woman in seiza in front of three five-month old babies. The woman had long white hair that went well past her waist and almost reached her ankles. Her eyes were as white as the first snowflake of the winter season and in the middle of her forehead was a single line which hid her third eye from view. Her face showed the motherly concern and love as she stared at her own three children.

Hamura Otsutsuki, the child on her left had gray shade of hair and a pale skin that was slightly lighter than her own. His forehead too, had horn like protrusions which was common among the members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan. And his eyes where a shade of white which was slightly darker than her own. She smiled while caressing his hair and wondered what was written in his destiny. Unlike her father, she didn't have the ability to glimpse into the future.

She moved her eyes to the child who was right in front of her, Hagoromo Otsutsuki. He too had the horn like protrusions and a pale skin that matched his younger brother, Hamura. However, his hair was a shade of light brown which was rare among the members of her clan. Looking at his sleeping face, it gave her a calm feeling, momentarily making her forget about everything she had gone through since she came into this world ruled by war and hatred.

Upon hearing the sudden cry of her third child, she immediately casted her attention towards him. Gently picking him up and making sure to keep the blanket wrapped around his little figure, she placed him on her lap and gently caressed his hair. Lowering her head, she softly kissed him on the forehead, hoping to make him quiet. A smile came on her face as the sound of his cries became less. A few seconds passed as he quieted down and innocently gazed into his mother's eyes.

"You just wanted my attention didn't you, Naruto? You have always been more of a handful than your brothers." said Kaguya softly. Little Naruto giggled and waved his arms as if answering his mother's questions. Unlike his brothers, he did not have any horn like protrusions on his forehead. However, his skin was as pale along with his hair being as white and silky as his mother's. His eyes were a shade of soft blue which she believes he inherited from his father. She looked down at her eldest son when she felt a somewhat firm grip on her hand. She smiled sadly upon realizing Naruto must have felt her distressed mind and brushed his hair gently.

"There's nothing to worry about, Naruto. Kaa-san will always be there for you." she whispered in a soft voice lovingly. Naruto gurgled happily as he saw the smile on his mother's face. Placing her right hand on Naruto's forehead, soft blue colored chakra spread over her hand which covered Naruto's small body like a thin blanket for a few seconds. She smiled as she saw his eyes drool and drift off to sleep.

Kaguya smiled a little as she stared at the sleeping forms of all her children. All three of them looked so innocent and harmless right now. But she could feel the power that was dwelling inside of them. The chakra that flowed inside her own body after she consumed the forbidden fruit of the Shinju will now naturally form in her sons. However, it was also the chakra that was inside of them, that was worrying her. She was certain the group of people who were rebelling against her father, would come for her and her sons' chakra one day. Maybe not today or in the next millennia, but they certainly will. The only solace she had was that she was certain her father wouldn't tell another soul of her current location.

Gently placing Naruto back in his former place, she got up and quietly walked out of the room. As she walked out of the room, she stood on the front porch of her house and stared at the colossal form of the Shinju that was in the middle of the land she resided in. The Shinju- a tree that had been around for thousands of millennia. No one really knew the actual history of it's origins. Since her birth, she had always been made to believe that the Shinju was the first primordial god to have been in existence and the one to create time, space and matter. Needless to say, she had been awed that such a godly being ever existed and wondered what made the being cease to exist. The members of the Otsutsuki Clan had been guarding the Shinju since the beginning of their time and she was taught to do that her entire life. Yet, when the time came, her own desires had conflicted with the duty she was prepared for.

Kaguya sighed once again as she thought of what all had transpired since she came to this world to alienate herself from the constant war that her clan was immersed in.

Upon her arrival, she was discovered by a small group of people from the Land of Ancestors. Even though she could feel the vile nature that was deep within the heart of some of these humans, she also felt those who only yearned for peace and a calm life. That was also the day she met Tenji. The man who was regarded by others as the lord of the Land of Ancestors. She was given a place to reside and a place to call home by him. After her arrival, she had spent many long nights simply standing in the garden and staring up at the night sky, hoping to spot her former home among the trillions of planets and stars that were there. It was during one of those cold nights that Tenji had approached her and spent the night with her, both just standing quietly under the ocean of stars. Since that night, the two had started to spend a lot more time together. She had even gotten a little close to her personal care taker, Aino.

A few months after, word had spread to the other lands that the lord of the Land of Ancestors had a celestial maiden as a concubine. Conflict had soon began surfacing between different lands and a lot of pressure was thrust upon Tenji's shoulders. Like Kaguya, he too wished to live in a world without any conflict and wanted to resolve matters through peaceful manners. However, the responsibility of being a ruler and the result of being threatened to war by other lands had made him sway from his peaceful ways. One such night, when Tenji was away on a battlefield with his army to confront the king and army of Land of That, another land's king attacked Kaguya's and Tenji's house.

Her eyes moistened a bit as she thought of Tenji, the man whom she had come to love and whose children she had. But her mood changed at once as she thought about the bitterness and coldness she saw in his eyes and the betrayal she felt on that fateful night.

 _Flashback_

" _Kaguya-sama! We must leave this place at once!" urged Aino hurriedly with a worried expression on her face. Upon hearing the loud shouts outside both knew someone must have attacked the house in Tenji's absence._

 _Indifferent to the situation on the outside, Kaguya merely sat on her futon with a firm look. Walking towards Kaguya, Aino suddenly grabbed her hand and made a run for the back door of the house. However, as soon as they made their way out of the house, they found themselves surrounded by a large group of people carrying spears, swords or arrows in their hand._

 _A tall man with dark brown hair and dawning a light brown kimono stepped forward from behind the crowd. He wore a white bandana around his forehead with a violet colored circular object in the middle and had violet colored earring on each of his ear._

" _The Land of Ancestors will fall very soon…" stated the man firmly._

" _To put it bluntly, what belongs to Tenji will soon belong to me, the Lord of Land of That, Daiki! From this moment on, you're mine" He stated with a maniacal grin on his face._

 _Aino felt herself remain rooted to the spot in fear on seeing the group of men surrounding them with weapons in their arms._

" _Kaguya-sama, you must try to escape from here!" she pleaded. Aino's eyes widened when Kaguya grabbed her hand quickly started to run to her left, towards the side of the forest._

" _As if you can escape anywhere!" yelled Daiki arrogantly. He and his men followed them quickly and once again cornered them before Kaguya and Aino could run off into the forests._

 _Upon feeling the Aino's tight grip on her hand, she realized how scared she must be feeling right now and knew she had to keep her safe. All these months Aino had taken care of her and she felt indebted to her. Her strength had considerably weakened due to the travel from her home to Earth. And looking at all these men around her and the war that was about to ignite, begrudgingly she knew there was only one way through this predicament. Looking towards the forest, she could clearly see the Shinju that had been standing tall for the past millennia. A second later, she looked straight into the eyes of the man who claimed himself to be the lord of another land and walked down the porch of the house towards the group of men with an apathetic look on her face._

" _Kaguya-sama!" shouted Aino fearfully as she saw Kaguya walk towards the enemy._

 _Two of the men stepped in front of Kaguya and stopped her. But as soon as Kaguya looked at them with narrowed eyes, the two of them were pushed far back with a tremendous force and immediately fell unconscious._

" _Do not touch me." Stated Kaguya. Instantly, a group of five more people ran towards Kaguya with their sharp end of the spears pointed towards her. As soon as they came near three feet of her proximity, each one of them was torn to shreds and their blood was splattered on the faces of rest of armed men and even Daiki._

 _Daiki along with rest of the armed men and even Aino took a step back on seeing the strange power that Kaguya wielded. While Aino sighed in relief that Kaguya was safe, the men were fearful in taking another step towards the woman whom they now considered a bewitching monster._

" _So, the maiden is a monster in disguise after all." Stuttered Daiki fearfully._

 _A look of slight relief came upon Kaguya's face when she noticed Tenji at the back on his horse. But that relief soon changed into hurt when she clearly understood the look on Tenji's face._

 _It was a look which signified doubtfulness, fear, but most of all, he had the same look on his face as the men who had attacked her. At that moment, she knew what Tenji would do. Before anyone else could say anything or make a move, Kaguya once again held Aino's hand and ran into the forest towards the Shinju._

 _Flashback End_

After consuming the forbidden fruit of the Shinju, Kaguya became the first being in this world to be able to wield chakra. With the enormous power she wielded, she singlehandedly put a stop to the perpetual conflict and war that was surrounding the world in its grasp. For her deed, she was worshipedby everyone as the _Rabbit Goddess_.

Shaking the thoughts out of her mind, her eyebrows raised dramatically as she felt a presence inside the house she hadn't felt in years. Turning on her heels, she quickly ran back inside the room and found her father to be kneeling in front of her eldest child, Naruto.

"Otōsan? What are you doing here?" Kaguya expressed her disbelief.

"I don't have much time, Kaguya…" Akimitsu said with deep breaths. His clothes were all tattered up and his body showed several cuts and wound marks which seemed fatal. But the fact which staggered her the most was that the third eye on his forehead was closed.

'So, the war already began at home and judging from his state of appearance, it didn't go well for him.' Kaguya summarized as she took notice of her father's current state.

"This child…" Akimitsu started, placing his left index finger on Naruto's forehead. Kaguya inched closer to Naruto but stopped when her father's intimidating gaze fell upon her. At that instance she realized, the person before her wasn't speaking to her as a father, but as a leader of the ancient and powerful Ōtsutsuki Clan.

"Whatever it is, you may not take another of my family away from me. I'm done with the clan. Whatever happens to it, is none of my business. Leave my family and me out of it." Kaguya stated firmly. To emphasize her point, the veins around her eyes bulged as the Byakugan in her eyes became more prominent. Akimitsu could feel the immense power that was inside Kaguya and momentarily he was shocked to understand what her own daughter had done.

With everything going around, Naruto, Hagoromo and Hamura suddenly woke up and began crying due to discomfort that they were feeling. Hearing the children's cries, Kaguya's face suddenly turned to that of concern. Using her momentary lack of focus, Akimitsu waved his right hand up and formed a chakra barrier around himself and Naruto to prevent Kaguya from getting close.

"Naruto!" Kaguya yelled with worry laced in her voice.

Naruto kept wailing in discomfort but Akimitsu paid him no heed. Taking the little boy in his arms, he got up and stared at Kaguya with a serious look. However, he was yet again shocked when he felt the enormous pressure of Kaguya's chakra and the look of animosity that was visible in her eyes. The wooden floors and the surrounding walls cracked at the potency of her chakra but Akimitsu kept himself composed. He knew what he would be doing was morally wrong, but it had to be done. For his clan's sake and his daughter. As he stood up on his legs weakly with Naruto held firmly in his right arm, Kaguya protectively stood in front of Hagoromo and Hamura who too were now inside a small barrier that Kaguya formed to keep them safe.

"This child… he is going to be our savior, Kaguya. He will become someone who can vanquish the essence of all evil and can establish peace as it was during the time of the Great Shinju and when our clan was formed millennials ago." Akimitsu expressed honestly. As he felt his life force leaving his body, he suddenly fell on his right knee and coughed up some blood.

"I already told you, the clan does not concern me anymore. Do not test my patience Otōsan. Return my son now or you may not like the consequences." Stated Kaguya coldly. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the look of regret on his face.

"Forgive me, my dear Kaguya. But, you're still too young to confront me in a battle… even if I'm weakened considerably. I wish there was another way to do this. But, it must be done to protect our clan and to save you…" said Akimitsu softly with the last couple of words in a barely audible whisper.

"No, he's my son. You are not the one to decide what he's destined for!" Raising her left hand, the bones in the palm of her arm hardened and fired off towards Akimitsu's head speedily. However, before the brown colored bone could reach even the barrier, Akimitsu clicked his finger and both he and Naruto disappeared from the spot.

As words failed to come out of her mouth, she fell onto the ground with tears falling from her eyes. Even with her sensing technique, she couldn't sense Naruto's or her father's chakra anywhere in this world.

'This isn't over Otōsan… you and the clan shall pay for it has done to me and my son.' she thought murderously.

Little did she know the reality she had built around herself and her children in this world would soon be changed, giving birth to yet another cycle of hatred and war.

* * *

 _ **Author Notes - I'm really excited about writing this story, since it seemed very interesting and relatively new to me. I haven't seen or read many FanFictions with the idea of Naruto being Kaguya's son or one which delves into the Otsutsuki Clan as such. And so, when the idea was presented to me by another reader, greymatter1098, I decided to give it a try. Since it's only the first chapter, I kept it quite short. But I do hope the make following chapters relatively longer.**_

 _ **Now, the pairing for this story will be Naruto and Izumi. Also, it's not female Itachi. It's the actual character by the name Izumi Uchiha who was shown in the Naruto anime. Both my other stories have Naruto and Hinata as a pair, so I wanted to deviate from that. Also, I'm looking for a beta reader who can help me out with the story. If anyone's willing to help, do drop me a message. It would be greatly appreciated.**_

 _ **My other two stories will still take preference over this. But I will update the story at least twice a month. Since it was summer, I haven't gotten around to much of writing since I was out most time. September first week onwards, I can start updating regularly once I get back to my normal routine.**_

 _ **Do follow, favorite and review the story if you come to like it! It would really help me build up the story!**_

 **Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Unbowed, Unbent and Unbroken_**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The beginning of Naruto Uzumaki**

* * *

 _A thousand years later, Konohagakure no Sato_

A young boy, roughly the age of seven could be seen sitting under the shade of a tree, near the lake. As the wind blew through his silky white hair, he felt the cool rush of it against his skin. He shuddered a little as he felt a little chilly from the sudden contact. The child smiled as he realized, the wind, which has no form except when it is moved by currents of air, exists nevertheless as real and valid. He sighed contently as he closed his eyes and kept his hands behind his head for support.

He seldom wondered about his own life, his origins and especially his own parents. His entire life he had never known the love of a parent or what it meant to live as a child. He would often see other children his age playing in the playground with their parents sitting nearby, kids asking their parents for the simplest of things such as an ice cream and he would feel a tinge of emptiness inside of himself. Nonetheless, he still smiled despite all the hardships the village had given him since he could learn to remember. He never understood the reasoning behind the anger, many of the villagers presented towards him. Perhaps it was something to do with his appearance or the malicious chakra he could feel deep within himself. He had always been able to feel the people around himself and the very essence of life itself, whenever he focused on his surroundings. It gave him pure joy to feel the life in nature around himself. It made him feel less alone as he understood he wasn't the only living being that was often ignored by the people.

As a couple more hours gradually passed by, he opened his eyes to the sun rays hitting his eyes directly. Covering his eyes with his hands, he noticed the sun was now directly above of him. Getting up from the ground, he stretched his arms a little to relax his little body. A few minutes later, he started walking towards the main area of the village, to meet one of the few people in the village who showed him kindness and love. As he made his way towards the village, he could sense two shinobi following him. For some reason, these two had always kept an eye on him and protected him from the shadows. Even when some of the villagers tried hurting him in any way, these two people had always come to his rescue. A little smile etched on his face as he tucked his hands in his pocket and made his way towards the Hokage Tower.

* * *

 _Hokage Tower_

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato was hailed as the strongest of the kages in his prime. It was his skill in taijutsu and his mastery over all the forms of elemental jutsus that earned him the moniker of 'Shinobi no Kami' (God of Shinobi). After the untimely demise of the beloved Yondaime Hokage, the mantle of the village leader had once again fell on his hands. Despite his old age, any shinobi or kage for that instance would think twice before challenging him to a fight. It was his belief that the 'Will of Fire' burned brightly in every shinobi and civilian of Konoha. The 'Will of Fire', the passion to protect one's home was an inconsequential essence of a shinobi that had been passed down to each of the Hokage since the Shodaime.

As he sat in his office, he peered through the crystal ball in front of him, from which he could look at any part of the village he wished to. Glancing at the clock once, he knew it was time for little Naruto's daily visit to him. His face turned a little sad upon seeing the disgusted and indignant looks that many of the villagers were giving young Naruto, as he walked through the bustling streets of his village. It pained him to know the burden that such a young boy had to carry without much support around himself. Yet, at the same time, the maturity and wisdom which Naruto often portrayed surprised the aged kage to no end. No child should ever show such behavior so early in their life. To be able to smile in the face of very people who abhor you is a trait very rare. Seeing as Naruto was now at the entrance of the Hokage Tower, he put aside the crystal ball and walked outside the office to greet his grandson like figure.

"Ah… Naruto-kun, you're here." Greeted Sarutobi warmly upon seeing the young boy. Seeing the aged man, Naruto instantly ran up to him and hugged him tightly, completely ignoring the furious look from the secretary who was sitting at the side.

"Jiji, it's good to see you. What are we going to do today, huh? Are you going to tell me another story about the Shinobi War or are you going to tell me about one of the Hokage's of our village?" Naruto asked quickly with a large smile on his face. With very few loved ones in his life, he cherished the moments he spent with them. And the Sandaime Hokage, who was like a grandfather to him always treated him kindly and listened to all his requests. Ever since he could remember, the old man has been the one constant figure in his life, whom he loved beyond measure.

"Calm down Naruto-kun. I'm not going anywhere. Let's go to your favorite spot, shall we?" asked Hiruzen with a smile. Nodding his head eagerly, the young boy latched onto the kage's hand. Making a single hand sign, both Hiruzen and Naruto shunshined from the Hokage Tower. The secretary sitting on the side sighed and sat down on her seat once she saw the two of them disappear. To this day, she couldn't fathom why the Hokage of all people would bother spending time with the child who brought nothing but death around himself. Aside from young Naruto himself, the entire populace of Konohagakure no Sato was aware of the beast that resided within Naruto and considered him the reason why their Yondaime Hokage had perished so early in his reign.

After all, it was human nature to disregard the obvious in times of peril and place the blame on the easiest of targets. Be it child, man or woman.

* * *

 _Hokage Monument_

"I really want to learn that technique too, Jiji!" exclaimed Naruto. The old kage had shunshined to top of the Yondaime Hokage's face which was ironically Naruto's favorite spot in the whole village. It made him happy that the boy was coincidentally close to his father, yet it saddened him that the boy could not know of his lineage. Even though, Minato was not the boy's biological father, the few months Minato had spent with Naruto, he had never seen his perished successor so happy.

"You will learn it, my boy. When the time is right, you too will learn the ways of a shinobi." Said Sarutobi wisely.

"Do you really think I can become a great shinobi, Jiji?" asked Naruto, a little timidly as he lowered his head. He was aware how the citizens and even some of the shinobis viewed him. And often wondered if he could ever make it out a shinobi. Placing his hand affectionately on top of Naruto's head, Sarutobi gave him one of the warmest smile, the young boy had ever seen.

"A shinobi's life is not an easy one, Naruto-kun. You will face a lot of hardships in your life and there will be times when you will feel like giving up and abandoning everything you believe in…" Sarutobi started. Naruto's face dimmed a little as he understood the gravity of the Hokage's word.

"… but, if you believe in yourself, your comrades and have the "Will of Fire", I'm sure you will become one of the greatest shinobi to walk in our world. You must never sway from your own beliefs. Just remember, it doesn't matter what you do, if you live and die as you like. However, no matter what road you end up taking, remember to protect the people who are precious to you." Stated Sarutobi with the wizened tone of an owl. As the words registered in his young mind, all Naruto could do was stare at his grandfather with awe and admiration for a while.

"Wow Jiji. You sounded so old now." Snickered Naruto as he faked laughed. Hiruzen face faulted on hearing Naruto's words but he knew the boy had taken each of his words to heart. Turning his attention towards the village, Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath to feel the freshness in the air. He could the chirping of birds, the whistling of breeze and even the people talking within the village. It calmed his slightly troubled mind immensely.

"Come here, Naruto-kun." Called Sarutobi, as he patted the ground next to him. The young boy quickly went towards the Hokage and sat beside him.

"You will be joining the shinobi academy in a few months. Have you unlocked your chakra yet?" Sarutobi asked.

"Hai Jiji! I read it from one of the books you gave me about shinobi history and concepts of chakra. In the book it was stated that, it is exceedingly rare for someone to unlock their chakra in their first try. But, I was able to do it very easily, as if it was second nature to me." Said Naruto proudly, puffing his chest slightly. Hiruzen's eyebrows raised ever so slightly but he did well not show his surprise before young child. It was true that it was extremely rare for someone to unlock their chakra without any guidance on their first try. There were only four shinobi he knew of, who had ever done it. Hashirama Senju- the Shodai Hokage, Madara Uchiha- former leader of Uchiha Clan, Orochimaru- his wayward student and Minato Namikaze- the Yondaime Hokage. All of them were among the smartest and most powerful ninja that had graced the Village Hidden in the Leaves, except for two. Even though Hiruzen loved Naruto like his own grandson, he was still an enigma to the old kage. The origins of his birth, the history of his biological parents- these questions often riddled his old mind. All he knew about Naruto's past was the fact that, Minato found him near the borders of Fire Country during one of his missions just before he was appointed the Yondaime Hokage.

"I'm sure you will go on to become a splendid man, Naruto-kun. It's good to know that you're reading the books I gave you. Knowledge is one of the aspects of being a shinobi. If a shinobi does not have enough knowledge of the elemental nations, the history of shinobis, or about the geography of the area he is travelling to for his mission, he could put his team at risk and quite possible jeopardize the mission."

"Hai! Hai! Jiji, can you tell me about the Shodai Hokage? You told me about one of your sensei, Nidaime Hokage, but I want to know more about the Shodai. I read that he was the one who put a stop to the Great Clan Wars, united the Clans together and founded our village." Naruto asked, interested to know more about the man who ended an age-old war all by himself. He loved to read about the history of shinobi. Since many of the people made their children also avoid him, he often spent his time reading the books that were given to him by Sandaime Hokage. Due to his interests in such topics from such an early age, he had developed a good idea about the harsh and ruthless shinobi world that he would enter soon.

Remembering his time as an academy student under his sensei, Hiruzen described and told Naruto about the tales of Shodaime Hokage of Konoha. Enthralled by the unbelievable and impeccable story that he was hearing, Naruto and even Hiruzen lost track of how much time they had spent atop the Hokage Monument. By the time Hiruzen had finished telling the tale, he noticed young Naruto's eyes had started to drool and that he would fall asleep anytime soon. Gently placing his hand around the boy's shoulder, he made Naruto rest his head on his lap.

Naruto smiled as he noticed the slightly orange color the sky had turned to. It was a truly beautiful sight to him. Listening to the stories from his grandfather was his favorite way to spend time and he was glad there was a person like Sandaime in his life. A blissful feeling echoed through him as he felt Hiruzen graze his hand through his hair.

"You may need a haircut, Naruto-kun. Your hair has grown quite long, reaching to your shoulders now." Sarutobi said with a small laugh.

"No, Jiji. I like my hair the way it is… Even the Shodaime and Yondaime had long hair! Who knows, I could become a shinobi as great as them…" said Naruto lazily, as he yawned in between his words. Hiruzen simply smiled at Naruto's words and stared off into the horizon with his hand still on the boy's head. A few more minutes passed, and he noticed that the young boy had drifted off to sleep peacefully. It reminded him of his student, Jiraiya, who too was very carefree and loved listening to his stories.

Snapping his fingers, a shinobi wearing a dog Anbu mask appeared beside himself. Inu, as the shinobi was called, was one of his most trusted Anbu members. He trusted the young Anbu with Naruto's life and knew no harm would befall Naruto if Inu was beside him.

"He has grown much in the past few years Hokage-sama. Shall I take him to his apartment?" asked Inu.

"Yes, do take him. It's almost time for my meeting with Danzo, Homura and Koharu regarding the Kumogakure ambassador who will be visiting soon with the peace treaty." Replied the Sandaime Hokage. Patting young Naruto's head gently one last time, he handed him over to Inu, who held the boy in his arms. Without any further ado, both the men disappeared from their spots.

* * *

 _Two weeks later, In the woods inside the village_

Like the past several months, Naruto sat in an open area, secluded from the village to do the little shinobi training he did by himself. Sitting in a meditated pose with his eyes closed, he felt the chakra that was circulating within himself. In some of the books that he had once gone through, he read that meditation was one of the simplest and most efficient way to get the chakra under control. So, once a day he would regularly come to this clearing all by himself to feel the wildlife and nature around himself and calm his rather distressed and turbulent mind. Ever since he could feel the chakra within himself and feel those that of other people, he had realized he had abundantly large and potent reserves of chakra for someone his age. He didn't know if it was normal or not but based on his readings of books so far, he knew having large chakra reserves would help him tremendously in a shinobi fight.

Making the _Hitsuji_ (Ram) hand seal, a light blue colored chakra covered his entire body equally. To any normal civilian it would look as if the child was covered in bright blue flames, but a veteran shinobi would have his mind boggled to see a child manifest such amount of chakra around himself. At this moment, Naruto could feel every little living being around himself. He felt the freshness of nature through every fiber of his body. The soft breeze touching his face, the tender grass surrounding him on the ground, the birds flying in the air, the animals roaming in the woods. It was a truly idyllic and aesthetic feeling. Even with his eyes closed, he was able to see all around himself. It was moments such as this that made him appreciate the beauty of this world. He wasn't naïve. He knew the shinobi world he lived in was a deceitful, dark and merciless place. And he knew as he grew up, the shinobi world would only get much darker.

A good distance away from the young white-haired boy, sat a weasel masked Anbu, Itachi Uchiha. The eldest son of the Uchiha Clan leader was among the most trusted Anbu of the Sandaime Hokage along with Inu. Graduating the academy at the age of 7 and joining the ranks of the elite Anbu at the age of eleven, Itachi was considered the greatest prodigy from Konohagakure after Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake. As he sat atop the branch of a tall tree, he keenly observed young Naruto, who was meditating. It had been over an hour and Itachi was immensely impressed with the boy's patience and chakra. He was certain that Naruto had much greater chakra capacity than his own and fairly good control for that matter.

The weasel masked Anbu was among the select few people who knew that Naruto was the legacy of their late Yondaime Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki, even though Naruto was not related to them by blood. Having known Minato and Kushina personally, Itachi had readily agreed to keep an eye on the young boy. He was sure, Naruto would make a great friend for his own little brother Sasuke and his cousin, Izumi, who will be helping the teachers in the academy with the students. Despite knowing he was specifically told not to interact with Naruto personally, with every passing month his curiosity of the young boy was only increasing. He couldn't understand why the Sandaime had forbade him or Inu from interacting with Naruto. From what he had seen in the past few years, the kid had no friend growing up whatsoever and it reminded him a little of his own childhood.

Because for those who hold great power in their hand often find themselves standing alone even in a crowd full of people. Itachi Uchiha in no way was an arrogant person, but he knew he was a powerful and smart shinobi and he was yet to reach his prime age. Thus, deciding to make his presence known to the young boy, Itachi stepped out from the shadows and made his way towards Naruto.

Naruto, who was still calmly meditating suddenly felt one of the shinobi who normally watched over him inch closer to his place with every passing second. Briefly, he was perplexed and wondered what it was that made the shinobi want to approach him. He knew the person had been watching him for a good few years and this was first time he had tried making any contact. Getting up from the ground and dusting off the little dust that was there on his black kimono, he turned around and came face to face with the weasel masked Anbu.

"Hello… Naruto." Said the weasel masked Anbu kindly, as he offered his hand to a slightly wary Naruto.

* * *

 ** _Author Notes- It has been months since I posted any updates for any of my stories. I had been really busy academically and also I was a tad bit lazy. As you have noticed from the first chapter and this one, I will be keeping the first 4 or 5 chapters pretty small. As the story continues, I will be making them lengthier, thus making each chapter more enjoyable to read._**

 _ **Now, I purposefully did not spill what happened between Akimitsu and Naruto or Kaguya, Hagoromo and Hamura because I want to keep that for later. There will come a time when Naruto will meet his real family. And there are certain things which I want Naruto to hear straight from them at an age where he can understand things more clearly. Well, this was more or less an introductory chapter to this story.**_

 _ **I'm still looking for a beta reader for this story. So, if anyone does want to help me out, do drop me a message. And do follow, favorite and review the story!**_

 **Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Unbowed, Unbent and Unbroken**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3: His first friend**

* * *

Naruto didn't move a muscle for a few seconds as he blankly stared at the weasel masked shinobi in front of him. Due to his lack of interaction with people growing up, he often had trouble to talk and trust them.

"Why is someone from the Anbu here for me, at this time?" asked Naruto calmly. He had already met the Sandaime today and did not have any plan other than training. He also had a feeling, that he was in no sort of danger, since the shinobi in front of him had been looking out for him from the shadows along with another one. But, living alone for so long had taught him never to trust anyone blindly. Be it a friend or foe.

Unconsciously, Naruto had started leaking a little of his chakra which was felt by Itachi, even though he wasn't a sensory ninja to begin with. The chakra he felt coming off Naruto was so dense, it seemed like a giant wall. Thus, he kept his distance for the time being.

"Cautious, huh? It's a good thing to be." Stated the weasel masked Anbu, as he lowered his hand.

"You still haven't answered my question…" said Naruto, as he folded his arms over his chest. Staring at the young boy for a few more seconds, Itachi removed his mask, revealing his face. The young white-haired boy was mildly surprised by the shinobi's actions. He had been told by the Sandaime Hokage long ago that the Anbu were among the elite shinobi of the village, who generally partake in the most dangerous missions and risk their life for the safety of the village. Since the Anbu members are mainly tasked with assassinations or disturbances in foreign countries, Anbu dislike anyone knowing their identities, and as such, most of Konoha's citizens aren't aware of who is and isn't an Anbu.

"I'm not here to harm you, Naruto-kun. I simply wish to talk." Itachi replied. He remained rooted in his spot, to not raise any unnecessary suspicion in the mind of the young child in front of him. Having watched him grow up for several years now, Itachi was a little familiar with how Naruto's mind worked. He had realized that Naruto was far more perceptive and smarter than kids his age. At times, he could see his own reflection when we looked at the young white-haired boy.

"Why would you wish to associate yourself with me?" asked Naruto innocently, but the sadness that was dripping from his voice, was clearly noticed by Itachi. He wasn't surprised or startled by Naruto's actions. Growing up, Naruto never made any friends because the villager's feared what resided within him. The very village Naruto's protecting tramples on him everyday of his life. After all, it is human nature for people to fear what they do not understand.

Closing his eyes for a few seconds, he took a deep breath and made up his mind about what he had to do. He wasn't a very impulsive person, but this was something that he really felt like doing. Itachi calmly walked closer to Naruto and poked him on the forehead lightly. As Naruto looked up, his eyes widened as he saw the small smile that was present on the shinobi's face. At that moment, Naruto felt a wave of happiness wash over his mind. Someone other than the Sandaime and the people at the Ramen store was willing to talk to him without giving him any disgusted looks.

"You are not what people think you are, Naruto. The villagers are misguided and blinded by the hate that shadows their mind. Do not think so low of yourself. It is true that the shinobi world we live in, is a very cruel place. But we shinobi are those who endure for a reason and protect what is important to us." Itachi explained. Naruto swiftly turned around to look away from the shinobi. His hands slowly moved upward as he wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall. As a few more seconds of silence ticked away, Naruto turned around to face the shinobi, with slight moist eyes.

"Would you like to train with my brother and I, sometime later?" Itachi asked hopefully. Sasuke and Naruto were about the same age and he normally helped his brother train from time to time. So, he figured it wouldn't hurt if he could help the two of them together. Also, with the growing distance between the Uchiha Clan and rest of the village, he wanted Sasuke to get well acquainted with someone from his age group outside of the Uchiha Clan.

"Hai, I'd really like that. I have never trained with anyone before other than Sandaime jiji!" Naruto answered with a big smile on his face. Abruptly, Itachi looked to his far right with narrowed eyes and sighed. He should have known, Kakashi would have come to check up on Naruto sooner or later.

"I must leave now, Naruto-kun. I shall come visit you sometime soon." Itachi said, as a small sigh escaped his lips. He would certainly have an earful from Kakashi and the Sandaime.

"Is it because of the other shinobi who was here a while ago?" asked Naruto, a little hesitantly. Itachi raised an eyebrow, realizing that Naruto was a sensor. It wasn't an easy task to sense an Anbu member and to be able to do that at his age was indeed a surprising feat. Without saying another word, Itachi simply vanished from his spot using the shunshin no jutsu.

"I did not even get his name…" Naruto whispered to himself as he looked up at the evening sky. He smiled a little as he thought, more people were slowly getting involved in his life. He gently placed his right hand on his chest as a single thought was running through his mind.

'Maybe soon, the emptiness in my heart would go…' Deciding to rest for rest of the day, he started walking towards his apartment.

Unknown to Naruto, a strange creature with Venus-fly trap like extension that emerged from it's sides rose from the branch of a nearby tree. The extensions enveloped its head and upped like a shell. But, the most peculiar aspect about this creature was that, left half of its was black while the other half was white. The creature had short green hair and yellow eyes and wore long black cloak with dark red clouds, a red interior and a chin high color.

"When will you approach him?" asked the white half.

"He still has much to grow. Even now, I can feel the enormous power growing inside of him. He is certainly the one who has inherited most of kaa-san's power. Time will come soon, when he's ready to know the truth about his past. Until then, he needs to grow even stronger… for kaa-san." Replied the black half, while whispering the last couple of words.

"So, you want to just keep an eye on him, until he reaches of age?" questioned the white half, again. Without saying another word, the strange creature simply sank into the tree branch without leaving any trace of it being ever there.

* * *

 _Two weeks later_

Naruto along with Itachi silently walked among the busy crowd of Konoha in the main street of the village, where most of the ninja shops are located. However, on the inside, Naruto couldn't stop smiling as the Sandaime had given him a large sum of money, so he could buy all the necessities for being a ninja. In a few months, he would begin going to the academy, so, he wished to buy all the required materials early. He slowly glanced towards Itachi, as he had now come to know his name and Naruto was glad about him being here. Most of the times, the villagers forbade him from entering their shops and making any purchases when he was alone. Knowing that, Itachi had agreed to come with the white-haired boy. Walking for about ten more minutes, both Naruto and Itachi stopped in front of a shop, which supposedly sold the best ninja equipment in the village- Todoroki's Ninja Guide.

"Let's go inside, Naruto-kun." Itachi said. Naruto simply nodded and followed Itachi, who opened the door which sounded with a chime.

As soon as Naruto entered the store, he stopped and gazed at the different kinds of weapons, shinobi clothes and scrolls that were on the shelves with wide eyes. He had never come to a ninja store before and he wanted to soak in as many details as he could. Ever since he could remember, this was the first time, he wasn't asked to leave the moment he entered the shop. Looking towards the counter, he saw a middle-aged man with a brown beard sitting over a stool and reading a book.

"Wait over here, okay? I will go and speak to the person in charge of the shop." Itachi said humbly.

"Hai. But, can I go over there and look at something?" Naruto questioned pointing his finger towards the clothing section. Itachi followed where Naruto was pointing to and was frankly astonished. Nonetheless, he nodded and walked towards the counter while Naruto walked towards the clothing section.

As Naruto walked past the other people who were present in store, he could hear faint whispers of people talking about him.

"Look, look… it's the demon brat. We should buy our things and leave from here quickly." Said one of the people distastefully.

"I have heard that, the Sandaime has agreed to send him to the academy. I can't believe Hokage-sama would let someone like him become a shinobi." Spat a chunin with hatred. Several more people made similar comments, but none had the courage to go up to Naruto because of the Anbu that had escorted him.

"Shhh…! Be quiet. You don't want to get into any unnecessary trouble because of that thing." Berated another shinobi who stood beside the chunin as he looked over the katanas on display.

Instead of listening to them, Naruto quickened his pace and soon enough stood before the clothing piece that his eyes had set on earlier. There rested a mannequin which was made to dress like a shinobi of the Great Clan Wars era. The clothing consisted of a dark red armor worn over a simple black suit with sandals. This armor was constructed from numerous metal plates formed into multiple protective guards along the body. Naruto's mouth drooled at the prospect of someday wearing this uniform in battle. Since childhood, he had read numerous books about the shinobi history, great wars, the five great nations and about the kages of each of the great five village since their foundation. So, he was aware that the shinobis who lived in the Fire Nation before the foundation of the village system, generally wore this type of clothing.

Ever since he started reading books about the shinobi world, he had always been fascinated by it's history and the key figures that played an inconsequential role in shaping it. The Sandaime always told him that the shinobi these days hardly adhere to the history and norms that were assembled during the foundation of the village or learn from the mistakes made in the past. There are only a handful of shinobi these days who could live up to the standard of their predecessors. But, at the same time his jiji also reminded him never to lose hope in the future and that someday a great maelstrom will shake the very foundations upon which the shinobi world is built on. Naruto chuckled lightly upon remembering those words.

As he looked around, he saw several sets of kunai, shurikens and katanas on the opposite shelf. Walking over to them, he picked up one of the kunai and held it in his hand firmly. There was no emotion on his face, but he intently stared at the piece of weapon. He knew when he'll become a shinobi, he would have to take someone's life. It was an inevitable fact for any shinobi in the Elemental Nations. But for some reason, he did not feel scared of that fact. He too had a dream of being acknowledged by the people of the village and for that he would need to become the strongest shinobi. The Sandaime Hokage is respected and acknowledged by everyone in the village and he could sense the power flowing within the old man, whenever he was with him. It was truly beautiful. But the shinobi, he respected the most was the Shodaime Hokage. Hashirama Senju, hailed as the strongest shinobi ever, stopped the Great Clan Wars on his own and united the people because of his tremendous power.

A mind is like a piece of flat metal. One could reshape it into any form they wish. With the right set of intention, it could be made into a magnum opus while with wrong ideas, all you would end up with is an abomination of what one could have been. Since childhood, Naruto has witnessed people with great power more so than often tend to rise and be acknowledged by people. Alas, there will soon a come a time, when everything Naruto believes in would crumble and fall, like the leaves at the end of spring.

"What is it that you're thinking of?" Naruto promptly turned around as he heard the voice. Lost in his deep thought, he was surprised when he suddenly heard someone's voice. He sighed in relief when he saw, it was only Itachi.

"Don't be so surprised. I'm a shinobi and I could easily sneak up on you if you are so distracted." Itachi commented. He smirked under his mask as he saw Naruto getting a little flustered.

"Did you already get everything?" Naruto asked unsurely upon seeing just two scrolls in his hands.

"Hai, I did. All the necessities are stored in these two scrolls. These scrolls were designed to contain large quantities in them. So, don't worry about anything." Replied Itachi as he showed Naruto the scrolls which had the kanji for weapons and clothes in them. Naruto smiled widely as he saw the scrolls. He could finally begin training properly to be a ninja. As the two made their way towards the exit of the store, Naruto stopped before the cash counter and walked towards the man who was sitting behind. Confused by his actions, Itachi merely stood by the exit.

The shop owner saw the boy coming towards him and an intrigued look formed on his face. He did not hate the boy for what resided inside of him. He was a veteran shinobi who fought in the Third Shinobi War and was well versed in the art of Fuinjutsu. He knew the Yondaime Hokage personally and had complete faith in his sealing abilities. He respected the kid for being able to carry such a big burden. He just hoped the rest of the villagers too would come to see Naruto as the Yondaime wished him to be- a hero.

"Um, excuse me?" Naruto said timidly.

"There's no need to be afraid, boy. Speak your mind." Replied Todoroki meekly.

"Thank you for selling me the weapons and clothes." Answered Naruto earnestly with a deep bow. This was the first time someone had sold him anything without giving him an earful and he truly grateful for it. Todoroki as well as Itachi's eyes widened a little upon hearing Naruto's words.

"Hold your head high… Naruto. Thank me when you become a splendid shinobi." Todoroki spoke as he placed his hands on Naruto's shoulder and made him stand straight. He was a bit taken aback by how white and silky his hair was. He had heard several rumors about the kid, but this was the first time he was seeing him up close.

"The armor I picked for you earlier, will certainly look good on you." Said Todoroki, surprising Naruto yet again with his words. After a couple of minutes as Naruto bid farewell to the shop owner, Itachi and Naruto soon took off leaving quite a bit of stunned customers in the shop.

After about fifteen or twenty minutes of walking, the two had reached the building where Naruto's apartment was.

"Meet me here, after five hours, okay? I have a meeting that requires my presence. I will take you to a training ground in the Uchiha Compound. We can begin your training today evening." Itachi stated seriously.

"Hai! I will be waiting here at 5:30, in the evening." Naruto replied.

"I have left a set of instructions for you, in your house. Read them carefully by the time you're ready. And, do you remember what I told you about earlier?" Itachi asked as his tone became a lot softer.

"I must never tell anyone that you're teaching me and must always be in control of my emotions." Answered Naruto confidently. He was glad that he was getting to learn from someone as disciplined as Itachi. In the past few weeks he had come to know that, despite his young age, Itachi was among the strongest shinobi in the village and already an Anbu Captain. He would certainly try to absorb everything he'll be taught. But, another reason he felt so close to Itachi was because he was the first person to befriend him without feeding him any lies. And that meant a lot to him.

"You do know how to open the scrolls right?" Itachi questioned, a little

With a nod of his head, Itachi shunshined out of the area. Naruto sighed a little as he saw the person he considered like an older brother leave. He always felt a little sad when he was alone. But, over the years, he had come to live with it. A few seconds later, Naruto turned around and walked into the building.

* * *

 _Naruto's Apartment_

Being an orphan, Naruto did not get much of a monthly allowance to live in a wealthy area or a spacious apartment. He lived in a worn-out district of the village and the apartment was a measly four hundred square feet of area. It had one bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom. The apartment did not have many furniture, just the essentials which would be enough for a single person to live in it. The room consisted of a small bed by the window along with a bed side drawer beside it. There was another larger cupboard opposite to the bed which was filled with a few clothes as well as a mirror beside the cupboard. The kitchen merely had a stove, a small fridge and table with chair for him to sit on it. At first glance, the apartment may seem to belong to a lowly man, rather than a child. Apart from the furniture, the apartment was filled with books. These were all the books that were given to him by the Sandaime Hokage. He loved reading those books, since they sincerely made him feel less lonely on his bad days.

Despite what the apartment may seem to anyone, Naruto grew up in this apartment and it was his home. The only place where he could truly sleep in peace. As soon as Naruto entered the apartment, he took a deep breath and exhaled calmly.

"I'm home!" said Naruto loudly, to no one in particular. Many a times, he had watched parents come to pick children up in the park and every time he felt a little empty inside. It made him realize, he never had anyone waiting at home for him. He never had a parental figure in his life to show him what love meant. Thus, to make himself feel better, he would often say it out loud, hoping someday he might receive a reply. Keeping the scrolls on his bed, Naruto walked into the kitchen. And as Itachi had said, he found three sheets of paper with a set of detailed instructions written on them. As he briefly went over the instructions, he understood it stated the number of kunai and shurikens he must carry with himself, along with several chakra control exercises with an elaborate explanation of each.

After going over everything, he went back to his bed and picked up the two scrolls. Sitting down on the floor, he opened the scroll with the kanji for weapons after applying some chakra into it. With a puff of smoke, in front of his eyes laid at least 50 kunais, 50 shurikens and a single katana. Upon examining the katana carefully, he realized, it was slightly different than a normal katana he normally saw shinobi carry around. Nonetheless, he felt kind of giddy upon seeing so many new things. Quickly taking the second scroll, Naruto opened it immediately. And if he was feeling giddy earlier, he had stars in his eyes upon seeing the clothes. There were two kimonos, one black and one white, both suited for a ninja to wear during battles. The last piece of clothing was the armor, he remembered Todoroki-san was talking about. It was simply exquisite. It consisted of a dark silver armor with black suit underneath and shinobi sandals. There was also a satchel which he could tie around his thigh, where he could keep the kunais and shurikens.

Deciding to get some rest before training in the evening, Naruto put fifteen kunai and shuriken each into the satchel and packed the rest into the scroll. Afterwards, he put the black kimono and the armor inside his cupboard safely as he decided to wear the white one in the evening. Once he was done with everything, he took a book about change in chakra nature and manipulation and peacefully fell on his bed.

* * *

 _Naka Shrine, Uchiha Compound_

The Naka Shrine, roughly translated 'Shinto Shrine of Southern Joy' is a sacred shrine located near the Naka river in the Uchiha Compound. Since the era of founding of the village, the Uchiha Clan members have always been gathering here to discuss the most important matters that relate to their clan. The shrine also hosts a stone tablet which is said to have been written by the founder of the Uchiha Clan and can only be read by someone who possess the powerful eyes of the Uchiha, the sharingan.

Currently, in the dimly lit place, two people stood silently. The one standing near the stone tablet was the Uchiha Clan head, Fugaku Uchiha. He had short, brown hair that reached to his shoulders and onyx-colored eyes with visible creases below them. He wore a simple kimono with grey pants, which had the clan symbol on the back. On top of that, he wore a standard jounin flak jacket. A few steps behind him stood Itachi, with an indifferent look on his face.

"You're sure there's no other way, tou-san?" Itachi asked. Still, remaining quiet for a few more seconds, he turned around to face his elder son. But when he opened his eyes, Itachi wasn't surprised to see the mangekyo sharingan.

"Yes, it's about time that our clan takes back what is rightfully ours. With you being close to the Hokage and the jinchuriki, our chance of success is eminent. In the next four months or so, we will be going ahead with the coup de 'tat. We still need to gather some time to go over the plans, but I don't think there are going to much changes made." Fugaku stated firmly. Since the time of Nidaime Hokage, the Uchiha Clan have always been cast aside and kept under surveillance in the name of village security. With each passing year, the distrust between the Uchihas and rest of the village only seemed to increase further. And with the Kyubi attack seven years ago, a lot of shinobi believe it was the Uchiha Clan who controlled the bijuu and made it attack the village. Fugaku scoffed at the idiocy of that accusation.

"I understand. Hokage-sama or any of the other higher ups have no reason to be suspicious of us. And when the time comes, I shall take care of Naruto personally." Itachi replied obediently.

"You seem to have gotten close to that kid. Remember Itachi, you are in line for the position of next clan head and thus you have a duty to your clan first, rather than the village. Since you are an Anbu Captain, you can get hold of more classified information which would be beneficial to us. Don't let your feelings for the village and that kid get in the way of your duty." Fugaku said with a hardened voice, which left no room for discussion. He was certain that Itachi is capable enough to fulfill his mission appropriately. However, the past couple of months, he had noticed a change in Itachi. He couldn't really place it and that bothered him. He knew Itachi never really showed any emotions in front of people and that made it harder for him to interpret his older son. Nonetheless, he was certain, the plan would go without a hitch.

"Hai, tou-san. I shall do as you say when the time comes." Itachi replied as his own mangekyo sharingan sprung to life. The two stared at each other for a few minutes but eventually, both their eyes returned to normal. Seeing that there was nothing more to be spoken, Itachi turned around and walked out of the shrine.

Hearing his father's words had solidified his belief in what he had to do. The Uchiha Clan had lost their way and this coup de' tat would not only put the village in unrest, but also destroy the clan. He hoped things were different, but in the shinobi world, things don't always go one's way because of their wishful thinking. Standing within the forests, his eyes roamed upward, and he was sure there was no hope left for this pathetic clan.

Self-Sacrifice, a nameless shinobi who protects peace within it's shadows… that is a true shinobi.

* * *

 _Evening, outside Naruto's apartment_

Naruto patiently stood outside his apartment waiting for Itachi to show up. He felt it was a little unusual for him to be late. From what he noticed, Itachi was extremely precise about everything he did. But, then again it had only been five minutes or so past the time he was given. Maybe, he was overthinking slightly. He was sure, it was nothing. He wore white pants along with the white kimono that he had purchased in the afternoon. It would be a lie for him say that he wasn't excited about properly starting to train as a shinobi but the past few weeks he had learnt that shinobis must always stay calm and never lose focus, no matter the situation in front of them. Despite knowing that, he was after all, still a child. And he couldn't be happier that he would get to train with someone he can call a friend.

Soon enough, Itachi appeared in front of Naruto with a shunshin. Taking a good look at Naruto for a second or two, he gave a small smile to the white-haired boy. He was definitive that the next few hours would be quite interesting.

"Let's go." Was all Naruto heard, as Itachi touched his shoulder and both disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

 _ **Author Notes- Hello everyone! Been a while since I posted any new chapter for this story. But, here it is. I have had to make some changes and re think about how I was going to approach this story, hence the wait. Eventually, I have decided, I will not be changing Izumi's age. She will be the same age as of Itachi, but will be helping out in the academy with the teachers to teach the students. So, I will try to portray Izumi as she was shown in the manga/anime to the best of my abilities. Also, I decided to have Sasuke play an important role later on in this story. So, he will not be just a side character.**_

 _ **Naruto is currently 7 years and Itachi is 13 years. Izumi and Sasuke will be introduced in the next chapter. And the other konoha 11 characters will be shown when Naruto starts his academy.**_

 _ **If you do come to like the story, please do follow, favorite and review the story! The reviews will be really helpful to me in planning about how to approach the story as it progresses.**_

 **Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Unbowed, Unbent and Unbroken_**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Sense of Belonging**

* * *

 _Training Ground, Uchiha Compound_

The next second Naruto opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a large clearing next to a lake. He keenly looked around the area and saw a black-haired kid about his age to be sitting on the edge of the bridge on the lake.

"Where are we?" Naruto questioned calmly.

"It's an empty ground used by the Uchiha Clan members for training. It's close to the Naka river." Itachi replied and pointed to the far edge on their left, from where Naruto could subtly hear the river flowing. As he looked around more, his face grew a small smile in appreciation of the beauty. This training ground seemed a lot more lively compared to the secluded ones he normally went to. Since his presence was not greatly appreciated amid the village, he often had to look for areas which were a little far off from most training grounds. However, that did not bother him at the least.

Itachi observed the young boy who took a few steps forward and saw his eyes close momentarily. He assumed Naruto was getting the feel of the surrounding landscape. Even after getting to know the Uzumaki a little better in the past couple of weeks, he was still surprised by some of Naruto's minute comportments. The way Naruto carried himself, his philosophy about the shinobi world, the potency of his power- it was well beyond the scope of an average seven-year-old. Upon hearing small footsteps approaching him, Itachi glanced slightly towards his right and saw Sasuke walk towards them.

"Nii-san, you're late!" Sasuke stated accusingly. He had been waiting by the lake for over half an hour and lately his elder brother had made it habitual to keep him waiting. It did not please him at all. He viewed Itachi as one of the highly skilled shinobi in the village and wanted to become someone who would be respected by the Uchiha Clan, especially his father. And he was willing to spend as much time in training it took, to surpass Itachi as a shinobi. At times, it pained him to see how little notice his father gave him, compared to his big brother. Yet, he wasn't completely disheartened by that, he loved Itachi far too much for that matter.

"Forgive me, Sasuke. I was caught up in some work earlier." Itachi replied apologetically. Sasuke just huffed and tried to make himself look mad for a few seconds, but all that anger immediately left his mind when he felt Itachi ruffle his hair gently.

"Come on, now. I brought someone, I would like you to meet. He's the same age as you and will be joining the shinobi academy along with you." Itachi said, trying to cheer up Sasuke. Upon hearing that, Sasuke shifted his gaze towards the white-haired boy who was standing a few feet away. He had noticed the boy earlier when he was walking towards his brother but had not given much thought to him. Now that he realized, he had seen the boy on a few occasions around the village.

"Hi. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. It would be nice to train with you and Itachi." Naruto introduced himself courteously, taking a few steps towards the two brothers.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Replied Sasuke, with slightly narrowed eyes. He still did not feel comfortable about Naruto's presence with them. Plus, it was a little unusual for an Uchiha to teach someone outside of their own clan. He wondered if their father was aware of this situation. Though a little surprised by the look on Sasuke's face, Naruto hid his reaction well. It would be wrong for him judge someone just after a few lines of conversation. It would be ironic rather. Still, Naruto was a tad bit glad that Sasuke did not have the same look in his eyes as those ungrateful villagers. Noticing the slight tension between the two kids, Itachi calmly stepped forward and asked them to follow him towards some of the trees and bushes on the opposite side of the bridge near lake.

Upon reaching the desired place, Itachi asked the two kids to sit down under the tree while he plucked two leaves from the nearby bushes and approached Naruto and Sasuke.

"What are we going to do today, nii-san?" Sasuke asked eagerly. On the other hand, Naruto who had observed the leaves in Itachi's hands, already had an idea about the older Uchiha's line of thoughts. Despite that, Naruto remained quiet, having the impression that his words would not be much appreciated by Sasuke presently.

"Since, both of you have already unlocked your chakra, the next step for any prospective shinobi is to learn to control their chakra. When one has complete control over their chakra, the amount of chakra required to do any jutsu can be significantly reduced and can be utilized amidst a battle with much ease." Stated Itachi. A slight smile formed on his lips upon noticing the attentive gazes of both Naruto and Sasuke. Thereafter, Itachi handed a leaf to each Sasuke and Naruto. "Now, for this exercise, you both have to balance the leaf on your forehead for at least five minutes using chakra. It's called the leaf balancing exercise." Itachi said and showed them how to perform the exercise by balancing a leaf on his own forehead.

"Once you manage to do it with one leaf, try repeating the exercise with a few more." Itachi said before leaving the two alone.

With a determined gaze, Sasuke took the leaf and placed it on his forehead. Closing his eyes in concentration, he made a steady stream of chakra flow towards his forehead. The result was instantaneous as the leaf stuck to his forehead for about twenty seconds but the very next moment, the leaf flew off it's place and fell to the ground in front of him. Picking up the leaf again, Sasuke repeated the exercise several time, but was able to increase the time only by a few seconds. Slightly agitated, Sasuke was about to ask Itachi for a little help when his eyes fell on the white-haired boy next to him. Looking beside him, Sasuke scoffed a little on seeing the calmness on Naruto's face and how he perfectly balanced the leaf on his forehead for well over two minutes. Annoyed at the fact that he couldn't do this simple exercise, Sasuke took deep breaths to calm himself. Once he felt composed enough, he placed the leaf on his forehead again. This time, Sasuke was pleased that he was able to maintain the leaf in its position for close to a minute. Feeling a little more relaxed, he kept himself at the exercise until he managed to maintain the leaf for over five minutes.

Sasuke hadn't realized how much time had passed since he started the exercise and was finally able to hold the leaf in its position for a little over five minutes. He as so focused on his task, he became completely oblivious to his surroundings. Looking around, he noticed Itachi was still lying under the tree with his eyes closed while Naruto was sitting beside him. Sasuke was a little surprised that Naruto was easily balancing five leaves over his forehead, while he only managed to do it with a leaf.

"How did you do it?" Sasuke asked, a tad bit of irritation evident in his voice. Upon hearing his voice, Naruto opened his eyes and turned towards Sasuke.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked confused. His response only seemed to agitate Sasuke more.

"How are you able to perform the chakra control exercise so easily?" Sasuke asked again. Naruto momentarily looked at Sasuke quizzically and wondered the same question. He had never performed any chakra control exercises in his life prior to this point. Though, he had heard about chakra control exercises in general, but the fact remains he had never tried to perform any exercise per say, to control his chakra. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head and replied, "I don't really know… I too am doing this exercise for the first time today. So, I can't really give you an exact answer." Sasuke was about to berate Naruto for being an idiot when he heard his voice again.

"Although, it doesn't really matter whether you're trying to do this exercise with one or five leaves. The basic principle is the same. You must maintain the flow of chakra you're exerting from your forehead to keep the leaf in place. And if you increase the number of leaves, you just have to increase the area from where you're exerting the chakra steadily." Naruto answered thoughtfully. Sasuke stared at Naruto with slightly wide eyes as the realization dawned on him. However, instead of thanking Naruto, he turned around and began practicing with three additional leaves. On noticing that he wasn't going to get any reply from Sasuke, he stood up and walked towards Itachi, eager to learn something more.

Despite appearing to be asleep, Itachi was aware of every little aspect of his surrounding and had heard the small conversation between Naruto and Sasuke. Frankly, it wasn't much, but it was a step in the right direction. Until now, his brother had no friends or acquaintances for that matter, outside the Uchiha Clan. Even among the clan, there were a handful of people who Sasuke spoke to. But, with Naruto beside him, all of that could change for the better hopefully. With what is to come, he did not wish for his brother to grow up all alone inside the village.

"Are you done with the leaf balancing exercise, Naruto?" questioned Itachi, upon hearing Naruto's arrival.

"Hai. It was quite simple. Do you have any other chakra control exercise in your mind?" Naruto asked eagerly. Now, standing upright under the tree, Itachi pondered if he should teach him the next exercise. The tree walking exercise is generally considered a jounin level chakra control exercise. But, seeing as how Naruto was able to master the leaf balancing exercise in such a short amount of time, he might as well give it a try. Still, considering Naruto's enormous chakra reserves, it was odd for him to be able to master even a simple leaf balancing exercise in under twenty minutes without any guidance. Earlier, he hadn't explained the principle behind this exercise as he wanted the two of them to figure it out on their own and learn from the mistakes they might make along the way.

"Alright, I will show you another exercise. This one, however, will be a lot more difficult compared to the previous one. So, pay close attention, okay?" Itachi said seriously. Naruto nodded his head and kept his focus on the older Uchiha. Meanwhile, Itachi walked towards the tree and to Naruto's surprise, he climbed the entire tree on his feet without stumbling even once. Now, hanging upside down from one of the tree branches, Itachi looked directly at Naruto and spoke, "This is called the tree walking exercise. In this one, you must maintain chakra in your feet and climb the tree. If you put too much chakra, you'll be pushed off and if you put too little, you won't be able to get a grip at all. The basic idea behind this one is similar to the leaf balancing exercise. Do you understand?" questioned Itachi once he had explained what the tree climbing exercise was about. Instead of replying, Naruto quietly walked towards the tree and calmly walked up the entire length to the top without stumbling even once.

Itachi merely stared at the white-haired boy beside him with a mind-boggling look marred on his face. It should be impossible. He has never heard of anyone being able to get this exercise completely right on their first try.

"What the hell!?" yelled Sasuke on seeing his brother and Naruto hanging from the branch of the tree with just their feet. He had just managed to balance four leaves on his forehead, although it took him a couple of tries to get the hang of it, he was now able to do it comfortably. However, he was flabbergasted on seeing Itachi and Naruto hanging from the tree. He had never seen anyone do that until now. On hearing Sasuke's voice, both Itachi and Naruto jumped from the tree and gracefully landed on the ground. Itachi was further surprised at Naruto's use of chakra to land properly. 'His chakra control seems unreal.' Thought Itachi keenly.

"How did you manage to do it on the first try, Naruto?" Itachi questioned, intrigued with this current development.

"Well, I could feel an energy radiating from the tree. And when you said that the general idea behind this exercise is pretty much the same as the previous one, I thought if I could make my chakra flow in the same steady manner compared to the one I feel from the tree, I should be able to climb up easily." Naruto replied after a few seconds of pondering. Itachi nodded his head as he understood Naruto's point of view. He was aware of the Uzumaki's sensing ability and thus made sense for him to utilize those sensory skills in such a manner. Still, it was truly ingenious.

"I also want to learn to do that!" Sasuke demanded, folding his arms over his chest. He believed if Naruto was able to do it, even he could.

"Patience, Sasuke. There is no need to rush. A shinobi's ability to remain calm is among the most important attributes. You'll get your turn today. So, there's no need to worry." Itachi replied with a small smile.

However, before Itachi could comment on anything further, he saw another person approach from his peripheral. He sighed, knowing he would have to leave now. Naruto too sensed the presence of another person coming towards them and turned his attention to his left. The first thing he noticed was the silky long brown hair with bangs framing the side of the face and the onyx colored eyes. The tiny mole under the right eye, clearly visible to him even from a distance. He felt a strange sensation within him as he felt her chakra. There were no words that he could utter to describe it.

"Itachi-kun, Sasuke-kun!" Izumi waved cheerily to the two brothers as she walked towards them. On going closer, she noticed the presence of another boy, about the same age as Sasuke. Her eyes widened a little, as she realized who the boy was. Naruto quietly stood a little at the back, guessing she must have come here to meet Itachi.

"What brings you here, Izumi?" Itachi asked redundantly. Of course, he knew the reason. He had known Izumi for a long time and he dared say, she was a good friend. He did not desire to hurt her feelings by acting differently before her and thus played along with her in most of their conversations nowadays.

"Fugaku-sama has summoned you for a meeting. He says it's urgent." Izumi replied. Yet again, she glanced towards the Uzumaki and observed him carefully. She had heard the rumors in the village and was aware of his status as the jinchuriki of the Kyubi. It saddened her to know the burden he had to carry all alone and getting hated by the very people he's protecting.

"Would you mind looking after Sasuke and Naruto while I'm gone? I was helping the two in some chakra control exercise." Itachi requested.

"You're teaching them chakra control exercises now? Don't you think it's too early? They haven't even started the academy…" Izumi said thoughtfully. Choosing not to reply, Itachi disappeared from his place to meet up with his father. Izumi sighed, having expected this sort of reaction from Itachi. She had noticed the slight changes in his behavior, but she was not going to question him about it unless he decided to say anything first. After Itachi's departure, an awkward silence had settled in the area as none of them knew what to do. Deciding to take the first step, Izumi spoke first.

"So, what all chakra control exercises has Itachi taught the two of you by now?" She had an idea as to what Sasuke already knew but in Naruto's case, she was a blank.

"Can you teach me the tree walking exercise?" Sasuke asked again, although a tad more politely this time.

"Hmm… It may turn out to be a little too advanced for you, don't you think Sasuke-kun?" Izumi asked. Sasuke just huffed in response making Izumi giggle lightly. Nevertheless, she decided to show it to him anyway. Sasuke had always been a quick learner in her book. Naruto quietly followed the two and sat a few feet away from the tree where Izumi was explaining the basics of tree walking exercise to Sasuke. A well over an hour had passed by now and he noticed that Sasuke had only managed to climb a max height of five feet on the tree before he lost his footing. In the meantime, Naruto had decided to sit calmly and meditate. While he could have just left along with Itachi, he believed it would have appeared uncivil to Sasuke who was willing to train with him. He may not be friends with him right now, but he did hope to be someday. Moreover, Sasuke was the first kid in his age group to speak to him without giving him any vile looks.

"Hi, I'm Izumi Uchiha." he heard Izumi's voice and promptly opened his eyes to face her.

"Oh, uhm… Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto stumbled in his words as he was a little surprised by her sudden approach.

"You know, you're awfully quiet and calm for someone your age. It's a little strange." Izumi commented with a blank face. Naruto's face stiffened a little on hearing that. He wasn't a stranger to those kinds of words.

"I've heard that before. Besides, I hardly know you. I had nothing to say to you." Naruto replied, his voice having the same blank tone as Izumi's. He quirked his eyebrow on hearing the girl chuckle and wondered if he had said something wrong.

"You need to ease a bit, Naruto. I was just messing with you. It's okay to be different!" This time Naruto was a little surprised to see the big smile on her face. He felt a little flustered on being played like that. This was the first time someone other than the Sandaime had genuinely smiled at him. And it made his heart feel a little happy.

"… thank you" Naruto stated, but to her it seemed more like a question. She realized he must have not experienced much of a normal childhood to b like this. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with Naruto in her mind, but that spark of innocence which children normally have on their face was nowhere evident on the white-haired Uzumaki.

"Do you generally meditate then? It's a good habit. I never could sit still for too long." Izumi commented remembering the time when her mother had helped her in unlocking her chakra. The memories of her parents brought a bitter pain in her heart, but she always managed to conceal it behind her cheery attitude. She believed, her pain was a burden which she had to carry alone.

"Hai. Sandaime-jiji gives me lots of books to read frequently and most of books stated that meditation helps in having a clear mind and helps in maintaining a smooth flow of chakra inside your body. And, it just makes me feel calm, I guess." Naruto replied. He didn't know what compelled him to tell her all this, but her presence alone was very soothing. The Sandaime's chakra gave him a feeling of assurance, Itachi's chakra made him feel needed, as if he had a purpose but her chakra was plain comforting and soothing. It was truly beautiful. He could feel that she had a good heart and was not trying to deceive him and that alone made him want to keep talking to her. As the two kept talking amongst themselves, they completely lost track of time or the fact that the sun was about to set now. The weather had become a little chilly in contrast to the warm afternoon.

Sasuke was now sitting on the ground, slightly huffing due to the strain he was feeling on his body as well as chakra. He had been practicing the tree climbing exercise for about two hours now, and he had only managed to climb up to twelve feet. He wanted to get up and climb the entire eighteen feet, but his body wouldn't budge. He was tired, sweating and could feel his chakra reserves almost depleted. He was amazed that Naruto was able to perform this exercise effortlessly. At the same time, he cursed his own weakness. At this point he was certain, Naruto was leagues ahead of him when it came to chakra control. He moved his gaze towards the Uzumaki and saw that he was still conversing with Izumi. A quizzical look formed on his face as he wondered what they could be talking about, that too for so long. Anyhow, he pulled himself up and stood up a little shakily and walked towards the two.

"Izumi, I'll be going home now. I'm done for today." Sasuke said tiredly. Naruto and Izumi suddenly looked at themselves and laughed sheepishly as unknowingly both had the same thought in their mind. 'Damn, I almost forgot about the time…'

As the two of them got up from the ground and dusted themselves off for any dust, Naruto noticed that Sasuke was barely to stand on his own two feet. He briskly walked towards Sasuke and immediately placed the palm of his hand on his forehead. Sasuke promptly backed off upon seeing Naruto's actions and looked at the Uzumaki weirdly.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" Sasuke demanded. Soon as he asked the question, he realized that he wasn't feeling tired anymore and that his chakra reserves felt back to normal. Moving his arms around a bit, he was amazed that all his sore limbs felt rejuvenated.

"Amazing!" whispered Izumi, who observed the entire event. She knew what Naruto had done and it was a deed, not even some of the jounins could perform easily. Yet, to see a mere child with such mastery over chakra was unbelievable. Confused and bewildered by what had just happened, Sasuke directed his question to Naruto, "What did you do?"

"I just transferred some of my chakra to you. You looked tired and I assumed you must have exhausted your chakra doing the chakra control exercise for so long." While Sasuke had just accepted the answer without any further questions, he was unaware of the skill it takes to be transmute your own chakra to someone else. Bidding goodbye to both Naruto and Izumi, Sasuke walked out of the training ground and towards his home to rest for remainder of the day.

"Do you know your way out of the Uchiha Compound?" Izumi asked as she was walking beside Naruto.

"No, Itachi brought me here using the shunshin no jutsu. I really want to learn it too. It looks very cool." Naruto chimed. Izumi laughed heartily on hearing that. This entire evening, she had come to learn a lot about the white-haired Uzumaki and understood that he rarely ever acted his own age. And now that she saw a glimpse of his childishness, it looked beautiful to her. After the loss of her parents seven years ago, she was devasted and heartbroken. Yet, unlike her fellow clansmen, she wished to help people come out of their grievances and put a smile on their face. And to her, the greatest victim of the Kyubi attack was the young Uzumaki walking beside her. So, it made her feel elated that she was able to put his mind at ease.

"I'll walk you home tonight. So, you'll know the way from your apartment to the training ground. Sound good to you?" Izumi asked kindly and smiled when she got a nod in return from him.

* * *

 _Few Months later_

A little over two months had passed since Naruto had started training with Itachi and Sasuke and he couldn't have been happier. He now felt a lot more comfortable around the two and Sasuke too had opened a little to him. He'd say he was rather good friends with Sasuke. Though he could be a handful at times, Naruto did enjoy sparring with him from time to time.

Among the many shinobi skills that he learned over the course of two months, Naruto had come to realize that his mastery of chakra was flawless. Itachi had even compared his chakra control to that of the Sandaime Hokage and had stated perhaps when he grew up, it may even surpass the Shodai Hokage's. While he was somewhat skeptical, he couldn't deny the things he could do. Ever since he could use chakra, he had always been able to heal himself with the green colored chakra surrounding his hands. Because of his large chakra reserves, it should be practically impossible for him to use medical ninjutsu, yet it was innate to him. While, it did make him feel rather different than the kids his own age, he embraced it readily. He was grateful for having met Izumi that evening near the lake. While Itachi was like an older brother figure who guided him on rights and wrongs of the shinobi life; Izumi helped him understand the complexity of decisions and their consequences. But, most importantly, she made him feel contented to be different.

The shinobi academy entrance test took place a couple of weeks ago and he was surprised to know that Izumi was one of the chunin helping the academy teachers. It was a strange experience for him when he first met the other kids who were from the prominent clans within Konoha. Maybe it was because he had no notion of what a family or a clan meant. While most of the kids avoided him on their parent's notice, there were also some who openly mocked him for his strange white hair and slightly pale skin. Yet, he never retaliated against any of them. He had no reason to and it would be simply unnecessary for him to entertain such unwarranted chatters.

A few weeks back, Izumi had asked what his dream was. At that point, he did not have an accurate answer. He still doesn't, but he does have a thought in his mind, a goal, more precisely that he wishes to perceive. He longed to be acknowledged by the people of this village, to be accepted as one of their own. He could feel the grievances and sadness that clouded the villager's hearts, but more so, he could also sense the good in them. He wished to protect this place which he calls home and give the people a reason to believe in him.

'Yep, I think, that's what I want my dream to be…' Naruto thought surely as he aimlessly walked in the outskirts of the inner forests surrounding the village. Itachi was currently outside the village for mission and Izumi had to stay late in the academy for extra work, while Sasuke just wanted to stay home. Since he had nothing to do, Naruto had decided to walk around the village to pass his time. And with the onset of winter, he adored the weather outside. It was his favorite season of the year after all.

However, he suddenly halted his steps when he felt her chakra begin to fade. He immediately turned around and rushed in her direction.

'No, no, no… this can't be happening.' Thought Naruto as he pushed more chakra into his legs to rush faster.

* * *

 _ **Author Notes- I know, I took quite some time off this story, but I think I just needed a fresh start for this. With my other two stories going on, I didn't want certain aspects of the stories getting mixed up and decided to take some time off to rethink some parts. Now, I can't say the updates will be extremely frequent from now on, but it will be more than what it used to be.**_

 _ **As we can see, Naruto is beginning to meet people whom he start to rely on. I want to take the relationship between Izumi and Naruto to be a little slow, build a form of friendship between the two and then take things to the next stage. Because, his relationship with Izumi is among the deciding factors on the type of person Naruto will grow up to be. While Naruto believes that he has his dream figured out, he's in for a rude awakening when the Uchiha Clan decides to advance their plan and Itachi is forced to take severe measures. That particular incident is going to be an extremely important part of shaping Naruto's view points and makes him start to question certain beliefs he had.**_

 _ **Now, regarding Naruto's powers, you must keep in mind that he is essentially Kaguya's first born child in this story. All the power he has, he received directly from Kaguya. So, some of the feats that he'll be able to perform will definitely be out of the norms of normal shinobi. His powers will awaken one at a time, with each power awakening during drastic situations.**_

 _ **Please do follow, favorite and review the story and let me know your thoughts! I will try my best to make this story a masterpiece!**_

 **Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Unbowed, Unbent and Unbroken_**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The falling snow**

* * *

 _About forty minutes earlier_

Izumi had just about wrapped up her work in the academy after hours of long work today. A new batch would be joining in a little over a month and she was glad that Iruka had asked for his assistance. She was a little more enthusiastic than normal cause of the fact that Sasuke and Naruto would be there. Apart from that, this would be the first time in the Konoha academy's history that clan heirs from all the major clans of Konoha would be in the same class. It seemed like a lot of pressure, but she was certain, she would be able to handle the pressure.

"Iruka-san, I'll be leaving for tonight. The report for the Hokage-sama is kept on my table." Izumi reported. Iruka returned the gesture with a tired smile.

"Thanks Izumi-san. Once the new session starts, the work load will be tremendous. And your help right now, really takes off some pressure from me." Iruka replied genuinely.

"It's no problem. I'm glad to help." Izumi replied earnestly and made her way out of the room soon. Upon exiting the academy, she felt a tiny shiver in her body as the wind brushed up against her skin. Gazing up at the night sky, she noticed it was a full moon tonight and momentarily was enthralled by its beauty. The different constellations and the thought of another world up there with life always intrigued her. After leaving the academy she made a right turn and walked towards the Uchiha Compound. It was a few minutes past eleven, hence most of the street was empty and the only light was that of the street lamps.

As she passed the Hyuga Clan's Main House Compound, her sharp eyes suddenly picked up a man clad in black clothes jumping out from the side walls and heading towards the walls of the village. But what caught her attention was the small bag that he carried on his back. And if she wasn't mistaken, she had certainly noticed the bag wriggle. Making a quick decision, she decided to follow the man, in hopes to find out his motives. As she was discreetly following the man through the forests, she activated her sharingan to have a better view. She gasped lightly upon noticing the chakra of a young Hyuga girl. Observing more carefully, she also confirmed that the girl belonged to the Main branch due to the lack of seal on her forehead.

'But, who could that man be?' thought Izumi in confusion. She had to confront the man now. Taking out a kunai from her back pouch, she expertly threw it towards the man. To her surprise, the man easily side stepped the kunai and stopped in his tracks.

"So, you finally decided to make yourself known, huh? I was wondering when you'd do so." Stated the man in his deep voice. Izumi too, stopped a few meters behind man and was certain that the man was a seasoned shinobi if he had known about her presence.

"Who are you and why are you kidnapping that Hyuga girl?" Izumi questioned harshly. When the man turned around to face her, she was surprised to see the Kumogakure headband on his forehead. The dots finally seemed to connect as she realized, the shinobi in front of her was an ambassador from Kumogakure no Sato.

"I must say I'm a tad bit surprised to find an Uchiha here. I suppose, it's my lucky day. It doesn't matter who I am. You're going to die here, little girl." The shinobi placed the bag beside him and ran at her with his katana drawn on his right hand. Izumi took out another kunai and readied herself. Her red eyes tracking every movement of the shinobi.

As soon as the shinobi came within striking distance, he leapt up into the air and descended upon her with his katana aimed at her neck. Izumi blocked the incoming strike with her kunai but realized that the Kumo shinobi had greater strength than her. Expertly getting out of that tight spot, Izumi jumped back and made several hand seals.

" **Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu** " A stream of fire released from her mouth and proceeded towards the shinobi, burning everything in its path. The shinobi merely smirked at the parlor trick and covered his katana in raiton chakra. Soon as the flames reached him, he swung his katana and cut it right down the middle, surprising Izumi greatly. Yet again, he ran towards her, but this time his speed seemed to have increased two folds. Izumi, once again jumped in the air and threw several shuriken which she further coated with fire. She smirked when a couple of the shurikens managed to hit the man, who was now clutching his left arm in pain.

"You bitch." Cursed the Kumo shinobi angrily. Glancing behind the man, Izumi sighed in relief that the girl in the bag seemed to be safe for the time being. This time however, seeing the man momentarily distracted, Izumi quickly covered the distance between herself and that man.

The Kumo shinobi was greatly impressed by the kunoichi's speed but a second later, he had to maneuver his body to the left to dodge a kunai being lodged in his neck. As he moved to the left, he simultaneously caught the girl's right wrist, and swung her around, only to throw her towards the trees. Izumi hit one of the tree's bark harshly but got up in no time. Her entire right side was in pain due to that throw. But she couldn't afford to slip up now. As she saw the man perform hand seals, her own hands started mimicking the shinobi before her.

" **Raiton: Raikou Kousen no jutsu** " A beam of high voltage electricity shot from the hands of both the shinobi and clashed in the middle. For a few seconds the two jutsu fought for dominance but a few seconds later, the Kumo shinobi's jutsu began to overpower Izumi's. Soon enough, the jutsu launched by the Kumo shinobi overpowered Izumi's proceeded towards her in a flash. Her sharingan quickly tracked the trajectory of the incoming attack and she moved her body as quickly as possible. However, her eyes widened in horror, when she realized the beam of lightning was following her. Glancing towards the Kumo shinobi, she realized that the man was controlling the jutsu's direction with his hand.

However, she soon slipped up and fell as the pain in the right side of her body began acting up again. A second later, a grisly scream escaped her lips upon being hit by the high voltage lightning. As her body touched the rough ground, her sharingan also faded away as she couldn't maintain the chakra required to keep them on. Since only her mother was an Uchiha, she did not have the necessary chakra levels to maintain the sharingan for too long. Her body often jerked up due to the pain that she was experiencing. She could not even move her body at this point.

The Kumo shinobi smirked on seeing the state of the girl. He then took out two more kunais and threw towards her. A silent scream came out of her, as she felt two kunais piercing her stomach. Painfully looking down at herself, her eyes widened on seeing the copious amount of blood flowing from her. She tried moving her arms but realized that they fell limp and for the first time in years, she felt scared. She had so many things that she wanted to accomplish in her life, but it seemed her fate had other plans. She could feel herself losing to unconsciousness as she pleaded for someone to come for help.

'Am I going to die, just like this? Without anyone ever knowing?' she thought as tears freely slipped from her eyes. She painfully glanced to her left and saw the Kumo walking towards her with a cocky smirk planted on his face. The man knelt beside her on one knee with a kunai in his hand.

"I have been a shinobi for over fifteen years, little girl. You should never have come after me in the first place. You Konoha shinobi disgust me. Look at yourself, pathetic…" snarled the Kumo shinobi with venom in his eyes. He then aimed the kunai just above her heart and spoke a few words that she dreaded her whole life.

"No one will know how you died, no one's going to come save you. Die knowing that the miserable life that you lived will now come to an end." He was about to plunge the kunai in her heart, when his ears picked up the sharp sound of several shurikens being thrown right at his face. He immediately jumped back to gain some distance to see the new comer. He sighed in relief when he saw a little boy dash towards the girl with a worried look on his face.

"Izumi… Izumi, are you alright?" asked Naruto anxiously as he took out the two kunai from her stomach. He then gently placed his hand over the wound to stop the bleeding. Not even having the energy left to speak, a horrified look appeared on her face as she saw Naruto. Now, it wasn't her life that she was worried about, but his. She may not have known him for long, but she had grown tremendously close to him over the span of past two months. Looking over all her injuries and her state, Naruto realized that she must not be in a state to even speak. His hands began to glow green as the wound on her stomach began closing.

Meanwhile, the Kumo shinobi watched the entire spectacle with an amused smile on his face. However, he was highly surprised when he saw the kid perform medical ninjutsu on the girl. Yet, it did not really matter. He would just need to kill the brat too to cover up his tracks.

"Oh? I'm surprised you can medical ninjutsu. You seem to have some talent. Maybe you'll prove to be a better challenge for me than that bitch." Stated the man. However, the very next second, he took a step back in fear, when he saw the boy's face turn towards him. He would never forget the feeling coursing through his body. The amount of killing intent he felt from that boy was immeasurable. Despite not being a sensor, the chakra he sensed leaking from that boy was inhuman. He suddenly fell on the ground as it became unbearable for him withstand the pressure of such chakra. However, it was the look in those glowing red eyes that sent shivers down his body and screamed for him to run. For a second, even Izumi was startled on seeing a fully matured sharingan in Naruto's eyes, but she was more terrified on feeling the raw power of Naruto's chakra. The moment Naruto turned to look at the man responsible for Izumi's current state, his anger had sky rocketed. He could feel his chakra itching to get out and obliterate this person in front of him. This was the first time, he ever felt hatred towards a person and he could feel an unimaginable power burning inside of him. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the man try to crawl back.

The air around them suddenly became exceedingly cold and the Kumo shinobi felt rooted in his place. He wanted to move, to run but how much ever he tried, his body did not adhere to his command. He felt the tantalizing chill of the wind on himself and wondered why the temperature around them dropped so drastically. Naruto lifted his left arm and pointed it towards the Kumo shinobi and focused his chakra solely towards his target.

Suddenly, a wall made of thick ice formed from Naruto's feet and travelled towards the Kumo shinobi in a matter of couple of seconds. Before the man could even move a muscle, his whole body was encased inside the ice wall. A few seconds later, every cell in the Kumo shinobi's body was frozen down to the very core. The moment Naruto clenched his fists, the entire wall of ice cracked down into tiny little pieces, including the Kumo shinobi, who was now lying dead on the ground in pieces. Without even sparing the man another glance, Naruto turned his attention back to Izumi. The last thing Izumi saw before closing her eyes was the alluring white snow falling upon her as the sweet unconsciousness finally embraced her. However, the feeling would forever be etched into her memory. The gentle touch of the snow dripping down her face, the calm chakra flowing inside her body. To her it seemed something out of a fairy tale, where she was saved by her knight in a white shining armor.

About ten or fifteen minutes later, a squad of Anbu led by Hiruzen Sarutobi came upon the scene to find Naruto sitting beside an unconscious Izumi Uchiha. The Sandaime looked around the area and narrowed his eyes upon seeing all the ice scattered around and what appeared to be several body parts of a person. Upon closer inspection, his eyes widened when he learned it was the ambassador from Kumogakure no Sato. He also noticed the bag at the far-left end and asked one of his Anbu to check it out. His sad gaze then shifted towards the young Uzumaki as he understood the events that may have transpired over here. However, he was further peeved upon noticing a fully matured sharingan instead of Naruto's warm blue eyes. He was certain the entire village had felt the power behind Naruto's chakra. Even he was slightly unnerved by the killing intent he had felt a while back.

"Hokage-sama, it's Hinata Hyuga who was reported kidnapped by Hiasha-sama." Reported the Anbu. Sarutobi sighed in relief upon hearing that bit of news. However, he knew there would be huge storm brewing once the council would learn of this development.

"Naruto…?" called out Hiruzen. But he got no reply from the boy. Yet again, he called out the boy's name but all he got in reply was dead silence. He quietly moved towards Naruto and placed a comforting hand around the boy's shoulder. On feeling the sudden contact, Naruto jerked up a little and shakily looked at Hiruzen. Soon enough, tears formed in the boy's eyes as he realized what had transpired.

"It's alright, my boy. Go rest for tonight. We'll talk in my office tomorrow morning, okay?" spoke Hiruzen softly. Naruto merely nodded as he stared at the ground, unable to speak anything.

"Inu, take Naruto home for tonight. I'll talk with him tomorrow. And Hibana, take Hinata-chan back to the Hyuga Compound. I'll take Izumi to the hospital myself." As Inu approached the young Uzumaki, he willingly went off with the dog masked Anbu, while Hibana took off with Hinata. Hiruzen approached Izumi and was further dumbfounded to see all her wounds were completely healed. He sighed as she realized he would need to have a long chat with Naruto tomorrow. He thought he knew the boy, but he was a complete mystery to the Sandaime Hokage.

* * *

 _Next day_

Naruto currently finds himself sitting inside the Hokage's office along with another man, who he believed to be Itachi and Sasuke's father, Fugaku Uchiha. Last night on his way back home, Inu had asked him to stop supplying chakra to his eyes. At first, he was confused as to why he would say that. But, it was only then he had realized that his vision was different. Upon reaching home, he was surprised to see the sharingan in his eyes. While oblivious to the fact that he was awakened a fully matured sharingan to begin with, Naruto was ecstatic to realize, he belonged to a clan and that he had someone he could family. It genuinely filled with delight. So, he had an idea as to why the Uchiha Clan head was sitting next to him.

Another matter which kept him up most of the night was the fact that he had taken someone's life. From an even younger age, Naruto was aware that if he became a shinobi he would need to kill. While, he had no qualms or regrets about what he did, he was still a little appalled with himself. Yet, on the other hand, he knew if he hadn't killed that shinobi, he and Izumi may not be alive today. He could count the number of people he cherished in his life on his one hand, and he was certain he would do anything to ensure their safety. Even get his own hands dirty. Still, however he tried to justify his actions, it did not make things easier. He assumed, as time passed, it would just get easier to handle.

Fugaku became slightly impatient sitting beside the Uzumaki. Earlier this morning, he was told that he was summoned by the Hokage for an urgent matter. It had been over thirty minutes now and the Hokage was nowhere to be seen. However, he was also curious as to why he was summoned and about Naruto's presence beside him. He certainly did not hate the boy for being a jinchuriki. He was just indifferent towards the boy. As ten more minutes passed by, the doors to the office opened and Hiruzen walked in, followed by Izumi and Inu.

"Hokage-sama." Fugaku stood up and gave a curt nod on seeing the Sandaime. While Izumi walked and stood beside Naruto, Inu took his place beside the Hokage. A small smile appeared on the white-haired Uzumaki on seeing Izumi in good health. Once Hiruzen sat down on his seat, he motioned for Fugaku to do the same.

"What's the urgent matter Hokage-sama?" Fugaku questioned promptly.

"I think, it' better if you see it with your own eyes." Hiruzen replied and looked towards Naruto. Fugaku was slightly irked at not receiving straightforward answer. Nonetheless, he followed the Sandaime's gaze and looked at the Uzumaki. Naruto understood what the Sandaime wished him to do and thereby sent chakra to his eyes. Fugaku was absolutely floored on seeing a fully matured sharingan awaken in Naruto.

"Impossible…!" whispered Fugaku. Similar thoughts were also running in the minds of everyone else in the room. Even so, the most shocked out of all was Fugaku. His mind went into a frenzy of questions but most of all he realized, this development also provided him with a great opportunity. If the boy had Uchiha blood in him, he could certainly take the boy into the clan since he was currently an orphan. Despite possessing those very eyes, even she was drawn to them. It boggled her mind as to how no one in the village knew about his Uchiha heritage. Naruto started to feel a little uneasy upon feeling everyone's intense gaze upon himself.

"When did this happen?" Fugaku questioned as he turned back towards the Sandaime.

"Last night, the shinobi that Kumogakure had sent as ambassador had kidnapped Hinata Hyuga, heiress of the Hyuga Clan. He was apprehended by Izumi, who had followed the shinobi to the outskirts of forests within the village. The Kumo shinobi had dealt a fatal blow to Izumi, who was almost on the verge of death. If not for Naruto here, I believe she would have died. And Kumogakure would have gained the two doujutsu from our village. Naruto managed to kill the Kumo shinobi and even healed Izumi, thereby saving her life. I think watching Izumi on the verge of death was the trigger that made Naruto unlock the sharingan." Hiruzen explained in detail.

"Are you sure, he had not awakened the sharingan earlier? It's a fully matured sharingan. In our clan's whole history there has been a documented case where a shinobi awakened a three tomoe sharingan." asked Fugaku skeptically. Despite his skepticism, Fugaku's sharp mind had missed the fact that Naruto could also use medical ninjutsu. Meanwhile, Naruto simply sat quiet as he took in other's words.

"You aren't hiding anything, are you Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen asked the boy calmly.

"I didn't know that I was an Uchiha, jiji… No one ever told me anything about my parents." Remarked Naruto. Sarutobi felt a slight pang on hearing Naruto's voice. But, in all honesty, he had no clue about Naruto's actual heritage. The fact that Minato and Kushina had taken him in, was a completely different matter altogether. Naruto wasn't even aware about his status as jinchuriki. He wished for the boy to grow up a little more before telling him the entire truth.

"Well, apart from this…" Naruto started and placed the palm of his right hand on his armrest. The entire chair immediately turned to ice. "I don't know what else I can do." Replied the young boy earnestly. Yet again, Fugaku's eyes widened on seeing the boy's powers. Every passing second, he seemed to become more shocked as he learnt more about Naruto. Once everyone came out of their momentary daze upon witnessing Naruto utilize Hyoton, the Uzumaki once again placed his hand on chair and absorbed the chakra, reverting it back to normal.

"Uhm, did I do something wrong?" Naruto meekly asked, since yet again he noticed everyone's gaze on himself. It was Izumi who raised the question in everyone's mind.

"How did you do that Naruto? Did you just absorb your chakra back from the chair?" Izumi spoke for the first time, since coming into the office. Naruto merely nodded, signifying his answer. Hiruzen sighed in disbelief at the answer. The boy had no clue about his own powers. He would need to remember to send Naruto's blood to the hospital for an extensive check. Maybe after that, he could gain some answer to the mysteries revolving around Naruto. He was also worried about the fact that if the other villages got wind of the full extent of the boy's powers, they may either attempt an assassination or plan to kidnap Naruto for their own purposes. Fugaku, however, had a completely different set of thoughts revolving in his mind.

'This boy is the jinchuriki of the Kyubi and even apart from that hi potential seems unimaginable. He's probably only seven right now. I can't even imagine the power he'll wield in six or seven years.' Thought Fugaku.

"Hokage-sama, I would like to adopt Naruto into the Uchiha Clan. With him having Uchiha blood in his body, one of his parents must be an Uchiha. The Uchiha Clan has never shown any disdain towards the boy and since he's an orphan, he'll have a place to call home. And maybe, it would also make things slightly better." Fugaku stated, choosing his words carefully.

Fugaku had always been an opportunistic person, so, Hiruzen wasn't entirely surprised by the request. Alas, he couldn't make the decision all by himself. While he did want Naruto to have a family and a place which he could call home, he would need to tread cautiously. Because Naruto was also a jinchuriki, the other clans may view the whole matter as the Hokage handing more power to the Uchiha Clan. Yet, on the other hand, if he did accept the request, the relation between the Uchiha Clan and the village may become slightly better. The past few months had been a very rough time for him when he had learned from Itachi that the clan was planning a coup de tat. Sarutobi was certain that Fugaku wasn't aware about Itachi's role as a double spy. Otherwise, things would have been completely different right now.

"Hokage-sama, I believe maybe you should consider if Naruto wishes to live with the Uchiha Clan. It is his life we are talking about after all." Suggested Inu. Izumi was mildly surprised that the Anbu had thought so far but also glad that there were more people looking out for Naruto.

"What do you think, Naruto-kun?" asked Hiruzen, this time slightly amused as he mostly knew what the boy would say.

"Of course, jiji! I want to be part of the clan too! And Itachi, Izumi and Sasuke are all from the Uchiha clan too. I mean, I am an Uchiha after all. So, it's only right that I take up the name and live in the compound." Naruto replied enthusiastically and activated his sharingan to make a point. Hiruzen and Izumi chuckled on seeing the smile on Naruto's face. They both knew how precious it was. While Inu did not show any outward emotion, he was glad. With him having sharingan as well, maybe he could teach his sensei's kid sometime in the future.

"That's good to know, Naruto-kun. I will have the paperwork started today to change your last name. But, for the time being, you'll have to stay in your own apartment. Once I have settled the matter with the entire council and a consensus has been reached, I will let you know then. Is that alright with you?" Hiruzen asked.

"That's okay, Sandaime-jiji. I can wait for a while longer. I'm just happy to know that I belong somewhere now…" replied Naruto, with a hint of little sadness in his voice. Izumi placed her hand on his shoulder to let him know she would be there to support him all the way. Naruto gave a small smile in return as he understood the unsaid message. A few minutes later, Fugaku and Izumi left the room as the discussion came to an end.

On the way out, Fugaku called out to Izumi. "How close are you to that boy, Izumi?"

"He's a good kid, Fugaku-sama. He's had a rough childhood because of his status, I'm sure you know. I'd say we're quite good friends. He saved my life yesterday. Accidentally or not, I can't forget what he did for me, or for the village for that matter." Izumi replied honestly. Still, she found his questioning a little strange.

"Hmm, I see. Stay close to the boy. If the Hokage does accept my request, he'll need a place to stay somewhere inside the compound. Since, you're living alone now, he could stay with you for a while until we have a place for him to move in to." Fugaku suggested.

"That sounds good with me, Fugaku-sama. I hope the council is in favor of the decision." Izumi replied and the two then parted ways. While Izumi went to the hospital for further checkup, Fugaku made his way to the compound. If he could have the Kyubi's jinchuriki under his control, taking over the village would be much easier for him. He was sure, his mangekyo sharingan was strong enough to control the Kyubi.

* * *

Back in the Hokage's office, Naruto was about to leave too when Hiruzen stopped him. "What is it, jiji?" Naruto asked cheerfully. He felt really delighted at this point. The prospect of living among family was his dream. He finally knew something about his origins. He may not know about his parents yet, but he had some answers at least. And he was content with that for now.

"Naruto-kun, you just need to do another task for me, okay? Inu is going to accompany you to the hospital. Over there, one of the doctors is going to take your blood sample for examination." Hiruzen said. Without even a thought, Naruto agreed to the request and the very next second Inu placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and both disappeared in a shunshin. Once Hiruzen was sure there was no one to eavesdrop, he made a few hand seals and erected a privacy barrier.

"What are your thoughts about him, Jiraiya?" Hiruzen asked, to seemingly no one. Suddenly a tall, fair skinned man, with waist length spiky white appeared from the left wall of the office. He had a well-built figure and a wart on the left side of his nose. He also had two shoulder length bangs framing his face. There were two red lines under his eyes which extended further down his face. His clothing attire consisted of a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armor that is visible at his wrist and ankles. He also wore hand guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. His headband, different compared to the general Konoha headband had two horns with the kanji for 'oil', which denoted his affiliation with Mount Myoboku.

"It's difficult to say right now, sensei. Even after all this while, I haven't been able to find anything substantial about his origins. It's a good thing, you never told anyone that he was adopted by Minato and Kushina. There would have been a lot of ruckus among the village after their death. And I don't think you should let him stay with the Uchiha Clan either. You know they have been acting strange." Jiraiya stated seriously once he came into view after undoing his chameleon jutsu.

"How is this even possible. It's beyond my comprehension. In all my life, I have never come across anything like this. Everything Naruto does, all his powers seem unreal. The fact that he has two kekkei genkai, the raw power of his chakra and his mastery over chakra, Jiraiya! At the age of seven, his chakra control is comparable to mine. Given a few years with the right training, that boy may very well surpass the Shodaime Hokage. All of this, it's just simply too much of a coincidence." Said the Sandaime in a tired voice. It was times like these, that Jiraiya could see that the old age was finally catching up with his sensei.

"I know what you're thinking. But, you need to calm down. We can't reveal everything to Naruto right now. He's far too young to handle the burden of all that." Jiraiya replied in a calm tone.

"What is it that you're not telling me Jiraiya? I know that the Grand Toad sage had given you a prophecy. But that can't be it, can it? There's something more too." Sarutobi spoke as he took out his tobacco pipe from within one of his drawers. Smoking was one of the guilty pleasures of Sarutobi.

"You have always been a smart one. But, this isn't the right time. That child is destined for great things. When the time is right, the truth will reveal itself to him." Spoke Jiraiya with a faraway look.

"I truly hope you're right on this, Jiraiya…" replied Sarutobi whilst taking a puff of his pipe.

"So, what are you going to do about Kumogakure? They'll certainly deny any involvement in this incident and state that the shinobi was acting on his own. And given the current Raikage's personality, Kumo may very well declare war upon us. Since the end of the Third Shinobi War, Kumogakure has been amassing their military strength." Jiraiya questioned. Sarutobi released a tired sigh and massaged his forehead, as all these matters began giving him a bad headache.

"I know, I know Jiraiya. I will be negotiating with the Raikage, but if nothing works, I may have to give in to their demands. We may be regarded as the strongest of all the Great Villages, but our military strength hasn't fully recovered. I don't wish for war to break unnecessarily." Sarutobi replied. Tapping the ash out of the bowl, he placed the pipe back in his drawer, away from the prying eyes.

"Also, you should know this. There's a new mercenary group whose name has been popping up a lot over the Elemental Nations. They go by the name of Akatsuki. I personally deem them dangerous cause almost all the members are rouge ninja who are classified as S-Rank in the bingo book. I don't know the group's motive yet. But I'm looking into them more. Currently, they have been taking minor missions across Tsuchi no Kuni. As of now, I don't see them setting their sights on Konoha, but that may change in the future. So, just be on alert." Jiraiya informed. Sarutobi nodded and was about to dive into his paperwork when he heard Jiraiya's voice again.

"You know, when I said that you shouldn't let him stay with the Uchiha, it was just an opinion. If Naruto so eagerly wishes, you shouldn't deny his request. He's already carrying a huge burden for this village, granting that wish of his, is the least you could do. And you very well know, you can take that decision alone. You don't necessarily need to consult the council for this matter. His eyes are a proof of his Uchiha heritage. Anyway, I will be keeping an eye on Naruto, so if Fugaku or anyone else from that clan tries to harm him in any way, they'll need to face me first…" Jiraiya chipped in, before jumping out of the window beside the Hokage's desk. Hiruzen chuckled softly on hearing that last line and eventually got back to his work.

* * *

 _ **Author Notes: Initially, I hadn't decided on awakening the sharingan for Naruto at this stage, but with the Uchiha Clan making their move, this seemed to be the perfect timing. Hyoton related jutsu is one of my favorite and I really believe, it's going to fit well with the Naruto character that I'm trying to develop. Naruto won't be getting any new powers for quite a few years now. Not until he starts doing missions or the chunin exams. I want to make him develop the powers that he already has.**_

 _ **The village will come to know about Naruto's exploits soon enough once the shinobi council gets knowledge of what happened to the Kumogakure ambassador. While I won't be going into a lengthy chapter regarding Kumo's reaction about their ninja's death or how the council meeting regarding Naruto goes, I will devote a small part of the next chapter for that purpose. Also, once the Uchiha Clan matter is settled, I will be planning a time skip to the graduation ceremony from the academy.**_

 _ **Please do follow, favorite and review the story! I really do appreciate everyone's feedback.**_

 **Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Unbowed, Unbent and Unbroken**_

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Calm before the storm**

* * *

Currently sitting in a traditional formal way, known as seiza, Naruto felt a little awkward among the elders of the Uchiha Clan. It had been three days since the Uchiha Clan was made aware of Naruto's sharingan. The fact that a young kid of age seven with an unknown heritage had awakened a fully matured sharingan had made quite the ruckus within the council of the clan. Nonetheless, Fugaku had managed to sway the council in his favor of allowing Naruto to be officially integrated into the Uchiha Clan. Fugaku's main argument being the fact that Naruto's sharingan must be exceptionally strong and unique for him to awaken a fully matured doujutsu and that he would be detrimental in their plans moving forward.

Based on Naruto's prowess and doujutsu, some of the elders even went so far as to consider Naruto as the reincarnation of their ancestor, Indra Otsutsuki. The information regarding the founder of their clan has been a well-kept secret that was only known to the elders of the council and the leader of the clan. The legendary tales of their ancestor, Indra Otsutsuki, the elder son of the Rikudo Sennin was quite the story among these select few men. It was also among the many facts that the Uchiha clan considered themselves far above the other clans and regarded themselves to be the rightful leaders of Konohagakure no Sato. While Fugaku was doubtful of such an outrageous claim, he couldn't deny that Naruto was indeed special. To his knowledge, Naruto was the first shinobi in Konoha to have been born with two kekkei genkai.

Currently, three elders, Fugaku, Mikoto and Naruto were sitting in the basement of the Nara shrine in front of the Uchiha stone tablet. Omiyamairi is a ritual that has been followed by the members of the Uchiha Clan since their founding era. After the first month of a baby's life on earth, the family takes him or her to a local shrine to show their new baby to the gods. The baby is dressed up with formal dress gifted from the mother's family, and a grandmother holds the baby to go to a shrine. The shrine offers a prayer wishing happiness and good health for the baby along with bringing good fortune to the clan. Since Naruto's heritage was still unknown, Mikoto had insisted Fugaku for her to carry out this ritual for Naruto, to welcome him into the clan.

"Naruto-kun, do you accept to uphold the honor of the Uchiha Clan and support the clan in any given situation?" asked one of the elders with grayish hair.

"Yes, I do." Responded Naruto with utmost seriousness. He was incredibly delighted that he finally had a place to call home and people to call his family. Ever since he could remember, he always felt an empty hole inside his heart and how much ever he looked, nothing ever seemed to fit the puzzle. But, now, sitting among these people, he felt content. No longer would he need to go to bed alone and no longer would he need to walk into an empty house after a long day. But most of all, he would no longer need to walk the hollow halls of his mind due to loneliness.

"Do you swear to protect the clan at any costs necessary? As a shinobi of the Uchiha clan, are you prepared to even give your life if the situation asks for it?" the elder asked again. Mikoto turned a little uncomfortable at that question, but Naruto just chalked it up to motherly instincts. The past few days he had gotten to know the Uchiha matriarch quite well and it amazed him how kind and loving the lady was. Having never known the love of a mother, this feeling was quite strange to him, but he wanted to embrace it with all his heart.

"I may not know what difficulties that lay ahead of me, but I have come to learn that a shinobi's life is one filled with struggles. Sandaime Hokage always told me that he considers the village as his own family and would gladly give his life if it meant protecting it. The Shodaime, Nidaime and the Yondaime all gave their life to protect the future of the village. But I also believe that people would never see each other as equals unless they have all known the same pain and the same ideology extends to the various clans within Konoha. Even though Madara Uchiha was considered a criminal by most of the village, it's also possible that he was misunderstood by many. Based on the stories I had heard from the Sandaime, I believe he only thought about the welfare of his family and clan. I, Naruto Uchiha, swear to uphold the honor of the Uchiha Clan and as a shinobi would even give my life to protect what I hold close." Naruto recited with passion and awakened his sharingan in an effort to prove his point. Everyone in the hall became silent on hearing such wise words from a child. One look at those red eyes, and everyone could see the sincerity behind Naruto's words.

Mikoto wiped a single tear from her eye and gently patted the young kid beside her. She had always felt empathetic for the white-haired child. A lone child bearing the burden of being a jinchuriki while also being hated by majority of the villagers was certainly not a childhood, she would wish upon anyone. Despite all the hardships he had faced, Mikoto was genuinely surprised at Naruto's kindness and maturity. However, at the same time, it also saddened her about what was to come. She may not completely agree with the clan's decision on a moral ground, but she had taken an oath to abide by the Uchiha Clan. And it was one, which she intended to see through until the end, no matter the consequences.

"That's very mature of you to say, Naruto-kun." Mikoto said with a genuine smile. Fugaku coughed lightly to bring everyone back to the matter at hand.

"From today onwards, we welcome you as a member of the Uchiha Clan then. I really do hope that you bring a lot of good fortune to our people, Naruto." Fugaku stated with a somewhat stern look. Then again, he rarely ever smiled. Once the ritual was over, one of the elders handed Naruto a full-sleeve, high collared dark blue shirt with the Uchiha Clan's crest at the back. As soon as Naruto was handed the shirt, he immediately took off his kimono styled shirt and replaced it with the one he got now. A wide smile spread over his face as he looked at himself.

"Once Itachi returns from his mission, your training will commence." Fugaku said as Naruto was about to leave with Mikoto.

"Sure thing, Fugaku-sama. You won't be disappointed!" Naruto replied. Soon enough, Mikoto and Naruto left the hall, leaving Fugaku and the three elders all alone. The moment those four were alone, the atmosphere suddenly became serious as a slight scowl formed on one of the elder's face.

"Was all of this really necessary, Fugaku? Are you sure the boy would agree to the plans that we have?" asked another old man, who had a cane to support his back problems.

"You need not worry about such a trivial matter. Even if he does not comply willingly, I still have my ways. He is after all a jinchuriki and is susceptible to the genjutsu of the mangekyo sharingan." Fugaku answered. His usual sharingan suddenly morphed, taking the form of three dots followed by three curves spiraling counter-clockwise around the pupil. The three elders gasped on seeing those eyes. There were only a handful of people in the history of their clan who had ever managed to awaken the mangekyo sharingan.

"When did you…?" asked an elderly woman. One could easily discern the slight fear etched in her shaky voice. It was believed within the clan that the mangekyo sharingan held an endless amount of dark power etched in those eyes.

"As I said, it does not matter. I'm certain my eyes are strong enough to cast a genjutsu over the Kyubi. Anyway, given Shisui's recent disappearance, we will need to expedite our plans for the coup. I can't be certain if the Hokage has gotten wind of our plans, but we'll have to make a move in the next two weeks." Fugaku replied. The very next moment he blinked, his eyes were soon back to its normal onyx colored.

"People are talking, Fugaku. There's a small faction in the Police force who seem to believe that Itachi is behind Shisui's disappearance. To be more accurate, they believe that Itachi killed Shisui in cold blood. We know that he's your son, but his movements have been quite sketchy the past few months." Stated one of the elders with narrowed eyes. The air around the four further tensed up as a frown appeared on Fugaku's face.

"What are you trying to insinuate?" Fugaku questioned indignantly. He certainly did not like where the elder's line of thoughts were heading.

"Nothing, really. Itachi is among the strongest shinobi in our clan. And it is pertinent that he remains on our side. Make sure that Itachi isn't having any strange thoughts about our plans…" the elder replied cryptically. Each passing second seemed like an eternity to everyone as Fugaku stared into the elder's eyes without saying a single word.

"Everything will go as planned. You need not worry about anything." Fugaku replied after a minute.

* * *

 _Later with Naruto_

Compared to the other houses in the compound, Izumi's house was relatively small, despite having three bedrooms, a living room, two bathrooms and a kitchen. It was a little further away from the Clan head's house- which was located near to the Uchiha Police Force building, and closer to the small lake within the compound. It had taken a little over twenty minutes for Naruto to move all of his belongings to Izumi's house, since he did not have much to begin with in his old apartment. The news of Naruto's involvement with the Kumo ambassador had been kept under wraps and only the top brass within the village had any knowledge about this matter- which involved Hiruzen, his personal Anbu group, Danzo, Koharu, Homura and Fugaku. Even the Hyuga Clan was not given any details as to how their heiress was recovered. Since Itachi was still out on his mission, he wasn't aware of this development and his brief talk with Sasuke since he awakened the sharingan was indeed a tad bit uncomfortable.

It was an hour past midnight right now and Naruto currently lay on the rooftop. His whole life had taken a huge turn in the past few days and even though he was glad, it was frankly, quite a lot to deal with. Even though, he still had no clue about his parents, he had a place which he could call a home. A place he now wanted to protect. Gazing up at the night sky brought a sense of serenity to him and calmed him immensely. But out of all the celestial bodies in the sky, he always felt himself drawn towards the moon. He could never really understand why. It was as if, someone was calling out to him and he unconsciously raised his right arm and made a gesture to grasp the moon within his palm. Alas, nothing really happened. He sighed as he thought what the future might entail for him with all of these sudden changes. How would the village react to the fact that he was a member of one of the founding clans of Konoha.

"Naruto, what are you doing up at this time?" Startled on hearing her voice, Naruto immediately turned around to look towards Izumi.

"Oh, nothing really. I just couldn't sleep… I figured I might come out here and lay down." Naruto replied with a sheepish smile. That was another thing which had begun to confuse him a little. Ever since meeting Izumi, he found himself smiling a lot more than usual.

Izumi simply giggled on hearing his response. "Is that so? Then you could have come to me, silly. I would have kept you company." She said and walked ahead to sit beside him. As the seconds slowly ticked away, the two became silent as they embraced the quietness and beauty of the billions of stars glowing above the horizon. Despite the silence, none of them felt awkward and they simply enjoyed each other's company. The calm wind flowing on the roof often made Izumi shiver a little. She wrapped herself around in the small blanket she brought with herself and breathed a sigh of relief.

From time to time, she discreetly glanced towards Naruto and still found it hard to believe that he had saved her from potentially dying. She hadn't forgotten the enchanting feeling that coursed through her body upon seeing the falling snow upon her. It was truly beautiful according to her. She suddenly realized that she never got to thank him properly.

"Naruto?" Izumi called, meekly.

"Yeah? What is it?" he replied and turned to face towards her. For a moment, Izumi was enthralled by those sky-blue eyes. She blinked suddenly as she realized the strange thoughts that were beginning to creep into her mind.

"I wanted to thank you for saving me, the other night. I know it must not have been easy to kill someone at such a young age. I will always be grateful that you gave me another chance to live this life." Izumi said, in barely a whisper. Yet Naruto had heard each word clearly and couldn't help but bring out a small smile in response.

"You are someone I consider close to me, Izumi. I don't have many such people and I would do whatever is necessary to keep those close to me alive. Plus, I'm sure you would have done the same thing if I was ever in such a situation." Naruto replied. Izumi could tell that he was being modest, but she did not wish to ruin the moment they were having by saying something unnecessary. She merely moved close to him and wrapped her blanket around him as the two yet again enjoyed each other's quiet company.

* * *

 _Three days later_

Hiruzen was sitting in his office and going through his paperwork when suddenly the door to his office swung open abruptly. He promptly stood up with a raised eyebrow when he saw his chief medical ninja rush into the office and stop right before his desk. Hiruzen glanced above and silently asked his Anbu group to stand down, who were ready to take any necessary action at a moment's notice.

"Urushi? What's the meaning of this?" Hiruzen questioned calmly as he got out of his chair and walked towards his shinobi.

"Hokage-sama, I have Naruto-kun's medical report in my hand. And… and you really need to see this information. I have never come across anything such as this." Urushi replied while taking deep breaths to calm himself. Intrigued by such a reaction, Hiruzen once again glanced up and released a short chakra burst, indicating his team to leave the office for a short while. Once the Anbu team was gone, Hiruzen closed the door to his office and performed a few hand seals to place a privacy seal around the room.

"You may speak freely now, Urushi. Tell me everything that you have discovered." Hiruzen commanded seriously.

"While conducting medical tests on Naruto-kun's blood, I discovered one of the strangest things. I… uhm, I don't really know how to say it to you. I know you're close to the boy, Hokage-sama." Now, Hiruzen was reputed as among the strongest kage in history and always kept his calm despite the situation before him. But, looking at Urushi's uneasiness troubled him greatly.

"Speak up, Urushi. What is it that you've discovered?" Hiruzen asked again, but his voice was a tad bit shaky.

"Naruto's cells are comprised of genomes which are partially not human. What I mean is that, he has human DNA within him, but most of his DNA is something that is not human, in other words, not of this world." Urushi revealed. Hiruzen unconsciously took a step back as he found himself floored by the information he learnt. It couldn't be possible. His face lost all color as he realized why Naruto was so different than the other kids his age and why his power was so unreal.

"A normal human being's cells undergo a finite number of cell division in their life but based on the mutated chromosomes found in Naruto's cells, I wouldn't be so sure about that. From what I understand, his chakra which too is different than the ones I have studied in humans, has an unnaturally high amount of life force. Every time Naruto's cell divides, which should normally make him age, his chakra seems to reverse the process. Theoretically, he could live for eternity. I also compared Naruto's cells to some of Shodai Hokage's cells. And the life force and vitality in Hashirama-sama's cells is a mere fraction of that found in Naruto's. If I were to put a label on Naruto-kun's chakra, it would be something of primordial nature." Urushi explained in detail. Hiruzen listened to each word intently, unable to believe what he was hearing. He simply could not comprehend the fact that the child he had come to see as his own grandson was not human completely.

"What do you mean his chakra is primordial in nature? And are you sure none of this is due to the fact that he's the jinchuriki of the Kyubi?" Hiruzen questioned suddenly.

"No, Hokage-sama. I'm certain the Kyubi has had no effect on Naruto-kun's chakra. I dare say, his chakra's potency is comparable to that of the Kyubi. Although even I'm not really sure when I say Naruto's chakra is primordial in nature. Something like this has never been documented in Konoha's history. Although, if Tsunade-sama were to take a closer look at Naruto-kun's DNA, she might learn something that I missed." The medical chief stated. Hiruzen became quiet for a few seconds as his mind racked through the possible next steps. This was truly monumental. The fact that there were beings other than humans who could use chakra. The Hokage's eyes widened as he realized Naruto could be the answer to the mystery of chakra that had plagued the shinobi world since ancient times.

"You are not to divulge this information to anyone else. Do you understand, Urushi? If another nation gets a whiff about this information, it could cause a catastrophe in the among the Great Nations." Hiruzen stated with utmost graveness. He sighed tiredly and walked back to his seat after taking the report from Urushi's hand.

"You can trust me, Hokage-sama. My lips will be sealed. But I would still like to conduct further research on this. As a medical ninja, I can't stand back at such an opportunity. Of course, I would keep you posted on any new findings that I come across." Urushi suggested. This research would be a certain breakthrough in the medical field and he surely would love to be at the forefront of a discovery such as this. Hiruzen merely nodded and dismissed Urushi, who quickly left the room to go back to the hospital.

'Minato, what kind of mess did you get me into…?' Hiruzen thought. Even now, all of this information was simply too much to process. He needed to contact Jiraiya as soon as possible and discuss this matter with him. For some reason, he believed the Toads would certainly have some information regarding this matter. Undoing the privacy seal, Hiruzen released another chakra burst and soon enough a shinobi wearing a dog mask appeared before him.

"Inu, find Jiraiya as soon as possible and tell him to come meet me at the earliest. Do tell him it's urgent and his research can wait." Hiruzen stated pressingly after he regained some composure. Inu bowed and immediately disappeared from view.

 _Later that evening_

"Are you sure that you can trust him, sensei?" Jiraiya asked while leaning on the wall beside the Hokage's desk.

He had immediately come to meet Hiruzen when he was rudely interrupted during one of his inspiration sessions. And the information that he was told had equally shocked him. Yet at the same time, it had also confirmed one of the hypothesis that he came across several years ago. Naruto was found by Minato a little after the end of the Third Shinobi War. While Minato and Kushina had taken it upon themselves to take care of the child, Hiruzen had secretly asked Jiraiya to find out everything he could about the child's origins. To find an infant in the middle of the woods just after a war had raised quite a few eyebrows with Hiruzen and the elders. During his travels to different parts of the Elemental Nations, Jiraiya had come across a particular shrine near Hoshigakure in the Land of Bears, where the elder priest's family claimed that their ancestors were close to the Rikudo Sennin. Of course, that claim had certainly piqued his interest and Jiraiya had stayed an extra few weeks to learn more about it. Among the various tales that he learnt during that time, the elder priest, Genryusai, had suggested that chakra may have come from another world and that it was intimately related to the Rikudo Sennin's family. He was also told about a tree known as the 'God Tree', which had fallen to earth millennials ago. At that time, Jiraiya had simply brushed off most of the stories since there was no evidence to support such statements. But, as things stood now, he wasn't entirely sure if Genryusai's words could be considered a madman's rambling.

"I have read the report by Urushi several times just to be sure and to my best knowledge, I can't find any discrepancies. However, this new information would also shed some light into why Naruto is different from his peers. I want you to deliver this report to Tsunade..." Hiruzen started but stopped midway when Jiraiya abruptly spoke.

"You do know that she wouldn't step foot into the village, right? I have no clue as to where she is and finding her alone may take a considerable amount of my time…" Jiraiya expressed himself.

"I know, Jiraiya. I'm well aware. But, do listen to what to my proposal. I'm not asking Tsunade to return to the village. I just want her to look over the report and give some insight into this matter. We could use her opinion on this matter." Hiruzen suggested. Jiraiya thought over the matter for a few seconds and decided to go with his sensei's suggestion. Moreover, he could also use this time to look into this matter further with the Toads. He was certain the Grand Toad Sage knew much more than he let on.

"That sounds doable. I will let you know when I find her sensei. But, again, don't keep your hopes too high about her cooperating with us." Jiraiya replied casually as he walked closer to the window. Without any further words, he jumped out and made his way out of Konoha. Once Jiraiya left the office, Hiruzen tiredly slumped in his chair. The weight of what he learnt today was certainly immense. He sighed, and it was times like these that he wished his wife was still alive.

Just as he closed his eyes to take a breather, the doors to his office opened yet again and Danzo walked in. And from the looks on his face, Hiruzen knew what the topic of the discussion was going to be. A few seconds later, once Itachi also made his presence known inside the office, Hiruzen made a few hand seals and erected a barrier around the room.

"Itachi, what news do you have about the plans of the Uchiha Clan?" Hiruzen asked.

"It's not good, Hokage-sama. The clan council have decided to commence the plans prematurely due to Shisui's sudden death." Itachi stated with a straight face. Despite knowing the truth behind Shisui's death, he could not act on that matter. Shisui's dying wish was for him to protect the peace and future of the village.

"Hiruzen, I recommend that we take immediate action against the Uchiha Clan. No one clan is greater than the other in Konohagakure. The village always comes before everything else. If mine and your Anbu teams plan a surprise attack on the Uchiha, the matter will be resolved in short time." Danzo suggested firmly.

"Watch what you speak, Danzo. The Uchiha Clan have been our comrade for a long time and don't speak such words before Itachi. I'm sure we can come to an understanding with the Uchiha Clan through words. I wouldn't wish to eradicate them completely." Hiruzen reprimanded. Danzo gritted his teeth slightly at being shut down again. He was a firm believer that the village came before everything else and should be the top priority and one should go to any lengths necessary to main the village's power in the shinobi world. Danzo abhorred Hiruzen's kind heart and believed his inaptness would eventually lead to Konoha's downfall.

"Itachi, will it be possible for you to buy me some more time? I will meet with Fugaku and see if I can change his views about the village." Hiruzen requested tiredly. He was aware what Danzo suggested was right in a way, but it would also leave a deep scar in the village and may rile the other clans in Konoha if the truth of it ever came out.

"I can't say anything for certain, Hokage-sama. I will report to you tomorrow morning regarding the matter." Itachi replied flatly. Hiruzen nodded and shortly after that Itachi disappeared from the office, leaving Danzo and Hiruzen alone. Danzo turned around to leave but stopped just when he placed his hand on the door handle and glanced towards his former teammate with his lone visible eye.

"You're making a mistake Hiruzen. You didn't listen to me about the position of the Yondaime Hokage and you aren't listening to me now. You have become weak over the years and that weakness hinders you from seeing the cruel reality of the world we live in." Danzo stated harshly before leaving. Once again, Hiruzen sighed tiredly and his shoulder slumped into the seat as he gazed at the ceiling.

* * *

 _About a week later_

A little over a week had passed since Naruto had moved into the Uchiha Compound and started living with Izumi. By now, the entire populace of Konoha had become aware of this development and most of them were greatly surprised to learn that the kid labeled as the demon was part of such a prestigious clan. Despite the revelation, it did little to stop some of the people to still show their hatred openly. Inu was still tasked with the job to look out for Naruto from the shadows while he was alone in the village. Over the past few days, Naruto had become quite close to Sasuke, who had begun to spend a lot more time with him. Currently, the two kids were by the lake inside the Uchiha Compound where Sasuke was practicing the katon jutsu which was considered as a 'Right of Passage' for any Uchiha aspiring to be a shinobi.

"Ughh… I'm tired of doing this… I don't know what I'm doing wrong." Sasuke exasperated after slumping onto the ground. His lungs were hurting quite a bit and his lips had blackened charred marking around them due to practicing the katon jutsu for the past couple of hours.

"So, you accept that you lose the bet, huh?" Naruto stated with a smirk while standing beside him. Sasuke scoffed as he promptly stood up in his place, ready to go again. A few hours ago, when Naruto and Sasuke had come to the lake, they had placed a bet on who would be able to master the fireball technique first and the winner of the bet will have to buy the other lunch.

"Well, why don't you give it a try? You haven't tried performing the jutsu even once till now." Sasuke retorted, a bit heatedly. Yet again, Naruto simply smirked and turned to face towards the lake. Taking a deep breath, he called out the name of the jutsu.

" **Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu** " Naruto breathed out a large ball of fire from his mouth onto the lake. The intense heat of the fire was hot enough to make the lake start evaporating immediately. A few seconds later, Naruto ended the jutsu and glanced towards Sasuke who appeared to have an irked look.

"Hmphh… whatever, loser." Sasuke whispered under his breath as he folded his arms over his chest. He may not show it, but Sasuke was greatly peeved by the fact that Naruto hadn't performed any hand seals to execute the jutsu. But ever since he learned that Naruto had awakened two kekkei genkai, one of them being a fully matured sharingan, he had grown accustomed to not being surprised anymore.

"I really don't understand why you insist on calling me a loser. I'm anything but that." For a brief moment, Naruto flashed his sharingan to prove his point and he snickered on seeing how mad Sasuke was getting with each passing second.

"You never cease to surprise me, Naruto." Came a voice from behind them. Upon turning around, both were surprised to see Itachi standing behind them.

"Nii-san, when did you return from your mission?" Sasuke asked immediately and rushed towards him. Itachi patted his younger brother a few times on his head and crouched to look at him in the eyes. "I returned last night and had stayed over at the headquarters. You have improved a little than before. It's good to see that." Itachi stated with a small smile. Sasuke beamed with delight on hearing his brother praise his progress. He had been working on that jutsu relentlessly the past week and had managed to get the basics down quite well. Itachi then turned his attention towards Naruto, who was quietly standing behind.

"I certainly did not suspect that you have Uchiha blood in you, Naruto. Let me see those eyes again." Itachi requested upon walking closer to the white-haired kid. Naruto nodded, and his warm blue eyes instantly morphed into the blood red sharingan with three tomoes. Itachi gave no outward reaction but even now he was pleasantly surprised to see a fully matured sharingan in Naruto's eyes. After training him the last few months, Itachi had realized that Naruto was leagues above all of his peers and several shinobi for that matter, but this new development was certainly against his wildest imagination.

"What about Hyoton?" Itachi asked curiously. Naruto giggled a little on finding Itachi so curious. This was the first time Naruto had seen him questioning him so intently. Nevertheless, Naruto opened his palm and suddenly a white butterfly materialized on it, made entirely of ice. Both Sasuke and Itachi were fascinated on seeing the small insect. The very next second, the butterfly flapped its wings and flew into air and circled around them. But out of the two, Itachi was more surprised by the fine detail of the insect which also indicated the extent of shape manipulation Naruto had.

"That's quite a feat, Naruto. You should certainly hone your skills with these two kekkei genkai." Itachi stated frankly with a bit of awe. "Hmm… let's have a little spar. You two against me. I have some time to spare before I need to get back to work." Itachi suggested. Sasuke immediately grew excited on the prospect of sparring with his brother. He was aware that Itachi was considered among the strongest shinobi in the village and wished to see how he fared against a seasoned shinobi.

"Let's do it, nii-san. You'll be in for a surprise." Sasuke commented cockily. Naruto simply nodded, also interested to see how he would fare against an Anbu Captain.

A short while later, Naruto and Sasuke stood on one side of the ground, while Itachi on the other. Both Sasuke and Naruto settled into the traditional taijutsu stance of the Uchiha Clan as they readied themselves. Itachi keenly stared at the two as he calmly stood in his place. With an unknown call, both the young kids rushed towards Itachi with an impressive speed. While Naruto sped through the left, Sasuke was on the right. As soon as the two neared Itachi, Naruto attempted a punch to his head while Sasuke aimed a kick to his kneecap. However, Itachi swiftly dodged both the attacks and back flipped to gain some distance. The moment Itachi landed on the ground, he took out four kunais and quickly threw two of them towards Naruto and Sasuke, each.

While Sasuke deflected the kunais aimed at him with his own, Naruto instantly formed a long rod made of ice and deflected the kunais aimed at him. However, the next moment when Naruto looked in front of him, he was surprised to have lost track of Itachi. Even Sasuke gripped his kunai tightly as he kept his senses on high alert. A few seconds later, Naruto immediately turned around as he felt someone's presence behind him. He was forced to put his arms up in defense to block the kick Itachi had aimed, but the force behind it made him stumble back a few feet. The next moment, Itachi jumped into the air to avoid the kunais thrown by Sasuke but he soon disappeared into a cloud of smoke to his brother's surprise. Another Itachi then popped up behind Sasuke and attempted to swat his legs. However, Sasuke smirked having anticipated that move and jumped into the air to give a roundhouse kick to Itachi. But he was irked when the Itachi before him yet again burst into smoke. Before he could react, the real one crept up beside Sasuke and gave a punch to his torso that made him fly back too and landed beside Naruto.

"He sure hits hard." Sasuke complained as he nursed his ribs lightly.

"Let's take this up a notch then. Get ready to use the katon jutsu that you've been practicing. When I say, use it immediately okay?" Naruto stated as he activated his sharingan. There was a smile on both the young Uchihas' face as both were enjoying the sparring session. "Alright, I'll be ready." Sasuke replied as he calmed his breathing. Meanwhile, Itachi yet again observed the two kids from a distance and smirked a little when he saw the sharingan appear in Naruto's eyes. 'Let's see what he is capable of…' he thought.

The moment Naruto placed his left arm on the ground, a sheet of ice quickly began spreading towards Itachi. In a matter of few seconds, most of the ground in front of Sasuke and Naruto was turned to ice which had prompted Itachi to jump into the air. Seeing that Itachi was midair, Naruto willed numerous pointed spikes to rise from the ice-covered ground and extend towards Itachi sharply. That maneuver forced Itachi to shunshin out of the area and reappear on top of a tree. Naruto's sharingan had quickly followed Itachi's movements and knew exactly where he was going to appear next.

"Sasuke, to our right, on top of the tallest tree. Do it quick." Naruto urged promptly. Sasuke quickly went through the hand signs and spewed a medium sized fireball towards Itachi's current location. However, before the two could celebrate their victory, two more Itachi appeared from the ground behind Naruto and Sasuke and placed a kunai to their throat.

"Yield." Stated both of Itachi's clones monotonously. A few seconds later, the real Itachi appeared out of woods and walked towards the two kids with a slight smile on his face. He was amazed how well his brother had improved in the short few weeks Sasuke had trained. He was certain that Sasuke's aptitude in the shinobi arts would only increase in the times to come. But what shocked him most was Naruto's control over Hyoton. To put it simply it was absolutely flawless. Moreover, Naruto's use of the sharingan seemed to be quite decent too, given the fact that he didn't have any prior training.

"I'm impressed, you two. Both of you showed excellent teamwork and good skills for your age." Itachi commented as he now stood in front of the two kids. Itachi's clones then disappeared making Naruto and Sasuke stand at ease.

"That was amazing, nii-san! But I'm sure I will definitely defeat you in battle at some point. Just wait and watch." Sasuke stated confidently. He was ecstatic because he knew his skills had definitely improved over the course of past weeks and given enough time and training, he should be able to defeat Itachi with ease. Yet, at the same time he was greatly surprised by Naruto's skills. It was hard for him the grasp the fact that both Naruto and he were of the same age, despite the vast gap in their skills.

"But you hadn't used anywhere close to your true power, huh?" Naruto questioned as he dusted himself off a bit. From the sounds of it, Itachi quirked an eyebrow at Naruto's dismay.

"You're correct in your assumptions, Naruto. While you two are certainly strong in your own right, your current strength did not warrant me to go all out. Both of you have the potential to grow stronger than anyone else around and you shouldn't let trivial thoughts such as that bother you." Itachi replied putting Naruto's mind at ease.

"Thanks, Itachi. I appreciate your effort." Naruto replied gratefully. He was amazed by the fact that Itachi always knew the words needed to improve his state of mind. He really was grateful to have a friend like him. A few minutes later, Naruto and Sasuke concluded their training for the day and walked back to their houses, hoping to get some rest and dinner. Once the two were out of sight, all shred of emotion washed off Itachi's face and an empty look developed in his eyes. He truly wished he didn't have to continue forward with what he would be doing tonight. But he had already resolved himself.

'A true shinobi does not seek fame or glory. He does not look for acceptance in others. But, he's one who protects from the shadows, even if his fate is to be hated by all.' That was the last thought that crossed Itachi's mind before another person appeared beside him out of thin air.

"Are you ready, Itachi? It's time…' stated the man in a somewhat deep voice. Itachi merely nodded. He took out his Anbu mask from the pouch and placed it on his face. The only thing visible on the faces of two men standing near the lake was the blood red eyes that glowed within their masks.

"Tonight, the Uchiha Clan shall meet its end…" stated the man with the orange spiral mask.

* * *

 _ **Author Notes: The next chapter will mostly pertain to the Uchiha Clan's massacre. How everything goes down, the reaction different people in the village have and mainly regarding the survivors of this massacre. Many of you may already know who'll survive this attack. But there will be surprises regarding Naruto. I had thought about including Kumogakure's reaction in this chapter. But, I believed it would fit better later on in the story.**_

 _ **Also, another matter which had vexed me for quite some time was whether to have Naruto awaken the rinnegan or the Jogan. Both of those dojutsu are related to the Otsutsuki. As Kaguya's first born son, Naruto has the possibility to awaken both rinnegan and jogan. I wish for him to be different than Hagoromo and Hamura but at the same time have minor similarities to him. Let me know your thoughts on the matter. I do have a theory in mind where Naruto awakens both Jogan and rinnegan, but at different times considering all the conditions have been met.**_

 _ **Please do follow, favorite and review the story. I'm really delighted to read all the review up to this point and cheers to everyone for the support!**_

 **Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Unbowed, Unbent and Unbroken**_

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Crack in the Great Tree**

* * *

The sun had just set sail below the horizon and the village Hidden in the Leaves was blanketed by a warm sky which radiated a mix of orange and red color. Most of the civilians had retorted back to the comfort of their homes. The only people still in the streets were the shinobi patrolling the village and a few shop owners who were just about closing up.

As per their bet, Sasuke had accompanied Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen after their training session. And judging from the grumpy expression on Sasuke's face, it was sufficed to say what he thought about the food.

"I still can't believe that you don't like ramen! It's my favorite food. How can you like it?" Naruto asked with wide eyes and a satisfied tummy. Sasuke merely grunted in response.

"Hmph... Ramen is not my first choice of food. And I don't need to like everything that you do." Sasuke replied. "Plus, that thing is just plain bad…" Sasuke added, almost gagging at the after taste of ramen. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the look on Sasuke's face. Right at this moment, he felt completely at peace and he couldn't be more thankful for everything he had. However short his life may have been until now, for majority of it all he had known was loneliness and things were slowly starting to get better.

"What are you smiling about, loser?" Sasuke questioned when he noticed the faint smile on Naruto's face.

"Oh! Nothing really!" Naruto replied urgently upon being caught off guard. "Well, I'm going to head to Sandaime-jiji's house for the evening. I will see you tomorrow for training?" Naruto asked once the two reached a crossroad.

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Sasuke replied with a shrug of his shoulders. He always found himself a little surprised that Naruto was so close to the Hokage. But as usual, he chalked it to the fact that the Hokage had been looking after Naruto since his birth.

Waving goodbye, Naruto promptly turned left and briskly walked towards the Sarutobi Compound, excited to spend the rest of the evening with Hiruzen. Spending time with the Sandaime after his training sessions had become a sort of ritual for Naruto ever since he began learning the arts of shinobi. However, unknown to him, a group of masked shinobi were discreetly following him from the shadows, keeping track of his every movement. A few minutes later, once, Naruto turned towards an empty street, he suddenly became alarmed. But, before he could even react, he found himself surrounded by six shinobi, all of whom were wearing plain white masks.

"Naruto Uchiha, our master wishes to have a word with you." Stated one of them monotonously. Naruto's body stiffened in his place. He could not sense anything from the group of shinobi surrounding him which was quite strange. He narrowed his eyes as he carefully looked around himself.

"I don't know who you people are. You certainly are not the regular Anbu since your masks don't match them. And who is this master of yours?" Naruto questioned skeptically. He carefully placed his hand in his kunai holster keep himself ready. Still, he doubted if he could take on six highly trained shinobi all on his own.

"Resistance is futile, Naruto Uchiha. We have been keeping watch on you since the beginning and are aware of your abilities. _All of your abilities._ It's in your best interest to come with us willingly." Stated a bulky man with slicked black hair who took a single step towards Naruto. Yet again, Naruto found himself scrutinizing the man for his choice of words. 'What did he mean by all of my abilities?

As soon as the masked Anbu took another step towards his target, Naruto instinctively released a wave of chakra, thereby covering the surrounding area in ice immediately. However, the six Anbu having predicted the attack, maneuvered themselves into the air in the blink of an eye and threw a barrage of kunai and shuriken towards the white-haired boy. Their objective was to retrieve the Kyubi jinchuriki either alive or dead. Naruto promptly activated his sharingan and calculated the trajectory of each of the projectiles thrown at him. And with impressive agility, managed to escape the attack unscathed. Once Naruto landed a few hundred meters away, he had to immediately duck down to evade a katana and before the assailant could react, Naruto formed a pointed rod made out of ice and thrusted it into the man's chest. As the man's lifeless body fell on the ground, Naruto had to yet again jump out of the way as four more shinobi closed in on him.

'That surprise attack won't work again…' Naruto thought calculatingly. Placing his palms together, Naruto gathered a large amount of chakra around himself and the next second there were numerous pointed ice rods flying in every direction at an alarming speed. While three of the Anbu managed to escape without any harm, two of them were hit in the vital spots and dropped dead immediately. The moment Naruto ended his jutsu, he looked around himself cautiously. Although, the next moment, another Anbu jumped out of the ground behind him and lunged towards him. Naruto barely managed to turn around and swat away the attacker's arm when the other two masked shinobi arrived behind him and impaled a sword through his left calf.

"AHHHHHH…." Screamed Naruto as he buckled down on the ground in immense pain.

"We advised you to come with us willingly. You should have heeded to our warning Uchiha." Stated that same bulky man stoically, before he hit Naruto on the back of his neck.

" _ **Pathetic, human.**_ _"_ Those were the last words Naruto heard before he fell unconscious. "Shin, carry him. We need to get back to Danzo-sama quickly." A tall pale boy nodded and moved towards the unconscious boy and placed Naruto on his shoulders. The next second, the three Anbu disappeared from view and headed straight to their base of operation.

Naruto groggily opened his eyes as the memories of the past few minutes registered in his mind properly. A look of panic spread over his face and he urgently looked at his left leg to see that the wound caused by the katana had already healed. Upon looking around, he finally noticed the surrounding or the lack of it. Naruto sat in a large dark area with water up to his ankle. Upon further inspecting the area, his eyes suddenly landed on the tall bars behind him.

'Looks like a cage of some sort. But where am I?' he mused when he suddenly felt a chill course through his body. He had felt this chakra inside of him, on many occasions. This dark and menacing chakra which he knew was the reason for his misery. Despite being right, Naruto took a step back apprehensively, when two large, red eyes with a black slit down the middle glowed from within the darkness of the cage. Following that, nine tails of mammoth size rose from behind to swing around wildly. A couple of seconds later, the Kyubi finally emerged out of the shadows, as he glared down at the child, who was his container.

" **You've finally come child… Come closer, so, I can rip you to shreds!** " The Kyubi growled, looking down at Naruto. Said boy instinctively took another step behind upon hearing that. But, the next second, he immediately composed himself and tried to calm his pumping heart. It was true that he was scared but more than that, he could clearly sense the turmoil of hatred and the reason behind it, within the bijuu's mind. It was similar to the misguided hatred that the populace of Konoha had for him. He sighed upon realizing that his suspicions had been right all along. He was the ire of the village because of the nine tailed fox sealed within him.

"It's truly sad, Kyubi. That we have to be stuck together." Naruto said somberly, letting down his emotional walls. If the Kyubi was in fact sealed in him, it was also probable that the fox could sense his every emotions clearly. The fox narrowed his eyes upon the child on hearing his words. He was not expecting to hear such words from the child. Yet, it did not deter his hatred for the boy, who kept him locked up.

" **No matter what words you human use, it means nothing to me. Your filthy species disgusts me to no end.** " The Kyubi almost yelled, throwing his paws against the bars of the cage. Naruto merely stood rooted in his place, even as the giant fox kept glaring at the white-haired boy. Naruto was greatly surprised at the amount of hatred he could feel from the fox before him. He didn't understand why, but he felt quite sad. It was only after a few minutes of silence that Naruto voiced a question that had been plaguing his mind for a while.

"Where are we?" asked Naruto innocently. He was honestly quite confused about it. Was he in his seal somehow? If so, how did he get here? And how could he get out? He was well aware that he was unconscious and was being carried somewhere by the three Anbu. He needed to do something to escape. Once again, the Kyubi growled and sent a heated glare towards Naruto. He ended up huffing and simply laid down and rested his head on his paws. He had sensed the dilemma that was going through Naruto's mind and couldn't help but agree that it wouldn't be beneficial for him if his jinchuriki got captured by unknown parties.

" **It's your mind. Do whatever the hell you want. Just don't bother me again… unless you want to open this damn seal.** " The Kyubi grunted and closed his eyes.

Naruto nodded upon hearing the answer, as it began to make some sense to him. Although there were a lot more questions that he wished to ask the fox, he was running out of time. Naruto could sense that he was still in Konoha and needed to act soon. He turned around on his spot and started walking back towards the only exit he had seen in this large clearing. However, he stopped midway and spoke, "Goodbye, Kyubi. I'll see you soon." And quickly ran towards the exit. A few seconds passed as Naruto disappeared from view and the Kyubi opened of his eyes to stare at the spot Naruto was in.

' **I never understood what you saw in these humans... jiji. And that boy, I fail to see how you could have such faith in someone you've never met.** ' thought the Kyubi quite bitterly, remembering the words of his father. He knew very well who Naruto was. Just by sensing the chakra, he could tell the resemblance to his father's chakra. Even among the bijuus, there were certain facts about their father, which only he knew.

* * *

 _ **Uchiha Compound (about the same time as Naruto is ambushed by Root Anbu)**_

Red eyes intently stared down at the road below, awaiting the presence of the person, whom he held dearer than anyone. As the wind blew past him, his hands shook lightly in anticipation of what he would be doing soon. Ever since a young age, Itachi had always been perceptive and the notion of life and death had always intrigued his mind. Having been born amidst the chaos of the Third Great Ninja War, he had known war since a young age. The images of thousands of corpses on the battlefield was imprinted on the back of his head and even to this day, often gave him a scare in his sleep. Yet, he would give up his life without a thought, if it meant to protect Konoha. Among the Uchiha Clan, only Shisui and him had the strong will to protect the village in which they were born and learned to look past the bindings of a clan. It was his hope that by cleansing the clan of the impurities, it would give way for the new generation to bask in the light.

He was jerked out of his thoughts when he noticed Sasuke come into view. All it took was a single glance. The moment Sasuke, unknowingly looked above the utility pole to his left, Itachi discreetly casted a genjutsu on his younger brother. Sasuke immediately stopped in his tracks and his gaze lingered above the utility pole for a few more seconds. Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he turned right and decided to take a longer route to home.

'I'm sure Kaa-chan would not mind, if I come home a little late.' Sasuke thought casually, having decided to train a bit more by the Naka river. He chuckled, as he realized that he'd become a tad bit impulsive in his decisions since meeting Naruto. Yet, at the same time he couldn't shake off the feeling that something terrible was going to happen.

As a few more minutes passed, Itachi sighed in relief once he was certain that Sasuke had left. Placing his left hand into his pouch, Itachi took out his Anbu mask and closed his eyes to steady himself. He had already made up his mind and was aware that this was the last course of action left for Konoha. Still, it pained him that the Uchiha Clan would soon be reduced to two people in a few hours. He slowly put the mask on his face and promptly disappeared towards the residential district of the Uchiha Clan compound.

 _ **With Naruto and the Root Anbu**_

As the three Anbu quickly sped through the forests of Konoha, the one who carried Naruto felt a slight movement. But, before he could even react, Naruto sprung himself off of him by kicking his back by both his feet and lunged forward to gain some distance. Naruto momentarily glanced down to check the wound on his leg and sighed in relief. All that remained on his leg was the blood from the wound. He reverted his attention back to his captors and readied himself. The short look of shock had already faded from the faces of three shinobi and now focused completely on their target. They noticed that the wound on Naruto's leg had already healed. The three too readied themselves, knowing well that they could not afford to underestimate the kid anymore.

"Shin, stay back and keep a close watch on the jinchuriki while the two of us go ahead and confront him. You know what to do in case he tried to escape." Stated the apparent leader of the three. However, Shin winced slightly at the tone. It was his weakness that had allowed their prisoner to escape. And he was certain their leader would not accept failure in this mission.

"Hai, taicho." At the end, Shin merely nodded and jumped to the back while he unsheathed his chokuto.

'I cannot compete with them in physical strength. They outclass me easily in that area and I highly doubt I can run fast enough for them to not catch me. The only thing in my favor is the amount of chakra I have and my Hyoton ninjutsu.' Naruto thought as he tried to come up with a quick strategy. His eyes widened however, when two of the Anbu suddenly rushed towards him. Jumping up, Naruto quickly formed a thin rod made of ice in his hand and deflected the chokuto that was aimed for his abdomen. Quickly activating his sharingan, Naruto once again began noticing the movements of his enemies in much clearer vision. As he saw the second shinobi coming towards from the right side, his sharingan then quickly predicted that the first one would try to stab him with a blade hidden in his sleeve. Faster than he ever reacted, while still in midair, Naruto pointed his arms below and an ice spear suddenly formed under the first shinobi which immediately pierced his throat.

The momentary shock of seeing his teammate die halted his movements for a second and the next second, he felt his heart get pierced by the thin ice road. Naruto panted as he finally regained a firm footing on the ground. He stared impassively at the third shinobi who was still standing rooted to his place, shocked that the jinchuriki was able to kill five of the Root Anbu agents. Quickly deciding upon the most logical option, he glanced at the white-haired boy one last time before he disappeared. He had to let Danzo-sama know about the boy's skills. If left unchecked, he was certain the boy would one day become too powerful to be stopped.

Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief on seeing that the last Anbu had left. He immediately fell on the ground as his knees started to feel weak. He solemnly stared at his hands as he remembered how he had killed five people today. He closed his eyes and focused on the air around himself and allowed his heartbeat to slow down rhythmically. However, instead of feeling the sense of tranquility he generally felt from nature, his blood ran cold. The sensation of fear, pain, betrayal and hurt he currently felt from the Uchiha Clan district sent a shiver down his spine. He abruptly stood up and focused all his senses on that part of the village as his legs unconsciously began walking towards his newly discovered home.

The closer he got, the more his heart clenched as he could tell most of the people were already dead while some were on the verge. Increasing his speed, he sped towards the Uchiha Clan Compound and stopped once he reached the gates. His eyes widened in horror at the scene before him and a silent scream for help escaped his small mouth. There were dead bodies scattered all along the main road of the district, the walls painted red with blood of his clan members. For a child of his age, it was truly a ghastly sight to stumble upon. His heart once again started to beat rapidly as he began searching for any survivors, especially Izumi, Itachi, Sasuke and Mikoto. Tears dripped down his face as he clenched his fingers. Running straight ahead, towards the end of the compound, he took a sharp left and entered a small house where he lived along with Izumi.

Without wasting any time, Naruto rushed towards the hall where his eyes laid on the unconscious form of Izumi. Immediately rushing beside her, Naruto almost choked when he felt the extremely weak chakra that resonated within her. Placing both his palms just above her, Naruto closed his eyes and focused all of his chakra on healing her. He had felt Itachi's and Sasuke's chakra in the Clan Head's house and was relieved that they were still alive. He had also felt another chakra; someone he didn't recognize. However, he immediately focused his attention back to what he was doing.

Izumi's body was suddenly engulfed in a thick green chakra as Naruto concentrated all of his energy on healing her. He did not want to lose her… no, he could not lose her, not as long as he was alive. He grunted slightly in pain as he had never converted so much of his chakra into healing chakra at once. Few beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as after about ten minutes, he felt that her heartbeat had returned to normal along with her chakra. As he stood up, he had to summon all of his willpower to not fall back. He felt that he was quite drained after healing her, but at least she would live now. Not wanting to leave her alone, he gently carried her in his arms and ran towards Clan Head's house. He needed to meet up with Itachi and Sasuke soon. He was sure, Itachi would know who was responsible for all this massacre and help him to take care of Izumi.

Considering what he went through in the past hour, Naruto was hardly able to think rationally and after about five minutes of running, he had reached the house. He had seen several more dead bodies along the way and his eyes only showcased the deep sadness he felt. He carefully placed Izumi on a clean sofa and made his way upstairs where he knew Itachi and Sasuke were. Yet again, he stopped in his steps just as he was about to open the door. His hands suddenly froze when he heard Itachi's voice from within the room.

"My foolish little brother… if you want to kill me, despise me, hate me and live a loathsome life..." Every word he heard froze a part of his heart as he understood what had transpired.

"Run away… run away and cling to life. And someday when you have the same eyes as me, come before me." stated Itachi in his monotone voice as the normal pattern of his sharingan swirled to form three spiraling curves around the pupil. The very next second, Sasuke's body plopped down onto the ground as he got caught in Itachi's genjutsu. Naruto heard a light thump sound and knew that it was Sasuke's body. He wanted to run inside and help his friend, but his body would not budge. As it dawned on him that it was Itachi who had killed the entire Uchiha Clan, his whole body merely froze in place, unable to process the truth behind it. A part of his mind screamed at him to even have such thoughts, alas, the reality around him was different. His best friend. _His only friend_ who understood his emotions, had taken away his family. Reality was indeed cruel. He didn't know what to believe anymore. The images of all the dead people kept replaying itself in his mind and his eyes widened with a morbid look as he saw Itachi kill all the members one by one.

'Someone… anyone… please. It's not true. No!' Naruto screamed in his mind. How much ever he tried, he could not stop the flow those memories. Suddenly, he felt his own weight pulling him down and the last thing he remembered before hitting the ground was a pair of sharingan eyes with strange pattern.

* * *

 _ **About ten minutes later**_

Itachi stood on the roof an abandoned building at the furthest end of the Uchiha Compound, close to the village walls. His heart was still racing from the events of the past half an hour, coupled with the heavy guilt that weigh on his mind made his hand tremble lightly. But he tried to calm himself through sheer willpower as he tried to gather his thoughts. He slowly removed his mask and kept it inside his pouch. He was certain, he wouldn't be needing it anymore. Before he could think of anything further, he saw swirling vortex appear before his eyes as a man, slightly taller than Itachi adorning a spiraling orange mask.

"So, it's over, huh?" asked the man in his deep voice. The single red eye that glowed through the hole of his mask was clear indication that the man was an Uchiha. Itachi nodded, signifying his answer.

"Very well, we should leave immediately for the Akatsuki's base of operations. I'm sure the leader of the group would appreciate someone of your skills." Stated the man, with no hint of emotion in his voice. Itachi knew the man before him was an extremely powerful shinobi and would someday grow up to be a threat to Konoha. It was solely for that reason he had decided to join Akatsuki. It would be much easier to keep tabs on the threats involving Konoha.

"You should leave ahead of me. I still need to clear out the details of the missions with the higher ups before I can leave." Itachi stated. The man simply nodded, and his body swirled into the same vortex through which he had appeared. Itachi sighed as tears cascaded down his face and he fell on his knees as the gravity of what he had done, now clearly rested on his mind. His hands would forever be tainted, stained with the blood of his clansmen, especially his parents. He clenched his fists as he punched the rooftile in frustration. As a few more minutes passed, his breathing had become much more composed. He could only hope that his sacrifice would usher in a new age for the Uchiha Clan. Standing back up again, he took a deep breath before he shunshined towards the Sarutobi manor.

 _ **About an hour later**_

Hiruzen quickly made his way towards the Uchiha Compound after the Anbu had reported him about the unexpected massacre of the Uchiha Clan. While he easily feigned surprise upon hearing the news, he could help but feel immense sadness regarding near extinction of the Uchiha. Another reason that worried him a great deal was Naruto's presence in the Uchiha Compound. He had become suspicious when the boy hadn't come to meet him in the evening. Generally, he would not worry about such trivial matters, but the fact that Itachi had found him in a battered state had only seemed to make the aged worry more.

Once he reached the Uchiha Clan's district, he noticed that the place was already swarming with dozen teams of Anbu, searching for any survivors amongst the dead. As his wizened gaze looked at the surrounding, he felt yet another pain in his heart. He truly did not wish for a solution such as this. The Uchiha Clan was part of the family he had sworn to protect when he took on the Kage hat. He sighed as stared up at the night sky with a solemn look. A hollow chuckle escaped his lips as he thought Itachi's actions were much more worthy of a Hokage than his own. The eldest heir of the Uchiha sacrificed everything to make sure that the village stayed in peace. It saddened his old heart to know that the general populace would come to scorn Itachi as the biggest criminal in Konohagakure no Sato. His eyes regained a bit of composure as he made up his mind on certain things. He never wished to have a repeat of what happened tonight.

A male Anbu with silver hair wearing a dog masked suddenly appeared in front of the Sandaime followed by a female Anbu who held an unconscious Izumi. Hiruzen's face showed the concern upon seeing the unconscious form of Naruto and Sasuke on Inu. While momentarily shocked that she was alive, Hiruzen gave a slight smile to show his relief.

"Take them to the hospital immediately and make sure they are treated properly. I don't want there to be any problems with their treatment." Ordered Hiruzen, looking towards at his Anbu agents. He noticed the tensed movements of Usagi and realized what her question might be.

"Who could have done this, Hokage-sama?" she asked through gritted teeth. Unknown to most, Usagi often kept watch over Naruto when either Inu or Karasu were preoccupied with something else. Having watched him for several years, she had come to appreciate the white-haired boy. Despite the blatant hatred that the villagers showed towards the boy, he never retaliated in any way and was helpful to those he was familiar with. Even apart from Naruto, she knew quite a few Uchiha, whom she considered her friends. For now, she was thankful that there was a mask covering her face. The distraught look her face portrayed along with the anger she felt was certainly unbecoming of an Anbu.

"Inu, Usagi, I'm sure both of you have a lot of question regarding this incident. However, it's prudent that we not talk about such matters in open areas, at least not now." Hiruzen answered apologetically. Inu wished to retort but kept his silence. Studying the Sandaime's face, Inu realized that the aged Hokage knew more than he let on. Yet, he could not help but sigh in slight relief that Naruto, Sasuke and Izumi were safe. While he didn't know much about the girl, he knew she was someone close to Naruto. Before the two Anbu agents could shunshin towards the hospital, they both heard a name which froze them in their track.

"Itachi Uchiha. The man responsible for the massacre of the Uchiha Clan. However, it's a relief that the jinchuriki is safe. It truly would have been a shame if the Kyubi were to fall in the wrong hands." All the Anbu heard those few words and turned to look at the man, who now stood beside their Hokage. A few gasps could be heard among the present Anbu upon learning that piece of information. Inu unconsciously gripped Naruto a little tighter. Without further ado, Inu and Usagi promptly disappeared from the area towards the hospital.

"Danzo." Hiruzen stated firmly. He eyed his old teammate dangerously. "I didn't think you'd come here." Hiruzen added. Danzo simply glanced towards Sarutobi with his uncovered eye that gave off the expression of boredom.

"Is that what you thought, Hiruzen? Whatever you may think of me, I still wish to protect the village… _even if it is from the roots of this great tree._ " Danzo gave a sly reply, as he shifted his weight a little to his left side, where his left arm rested on a cane. Despite the calm look on the exterior, Danzo was quite livid with himself. He was irked with the fact that six of his agents were unable to recover the Kyubi jinchuriki. Tonight, had provided to be an impeccable opportunity for him to capture the boy, to train him to his own wishes and mold his ideology. He sighed knowing he would have to wait for another time. At least a few of his own Anbu were currently retrieving several pair of sharingan eyes from the dead corpses for his use in the future.

Hiruzen simply ignored the remark made by Danzo and observed him silently for a few seconds. Having known the man his whole life, he knew there was something troubling Danzo. He cleared his throat to get Danzo's attention and decided to speak his mind. He could not allow Danzo to have much free reign in the village much longer.

"Danzo, you're effectively removed from your position as Second in Command of Konoha and denied from having a seat in the council." Hiruzen stated calmly and raised his hand to stop any retorts from his teammate. "I do not wish to hear anything. Tonight, was a tragedy that never should have happened. Konoha suffered a tremendous loss today, but I'll make sure something like this does not happen again." Hiruzen stated with definite power behind every word, as he walked deeper into the compound. Meanwhile, Danzo stood in his place as he stared at Hiruzen's retreating form. His lips curled slightly upwards, denoting the slight smirk on his face.

'Worry not Hiruzen. Soon enough, the tables will be turned.' Danzo thought as he turned around to walk back to the Foundation's base. Quite frankly, he had expected that reaction from Hiruzen considering it was him who nudged Hiruzen in this direction. He would have to bid his time until the right moment and keep a more a secure eye on Naruto. He already knew of a person who'd able to do the task perfectly in a few years.

* * *

 _ **Author Notes: Greetings to everyone! And my humble apologies for the delay in update. I will hopefully be updating more frequently. I didn't wish to go much into the detail of how Obito and Itachi killed the Uchiha clan members. There are certain parts of the night that I want to keep as flashbacks. The scene where Izumi confronts Itachi will be one such. I really tried to summarize the events of that night along with their future consequences as best as I could.**_

 _ **The story would begin to progress a little fast from here on. Naruto will have a hard time coming to terms with what Itachi did to the Uchiha Clan. Sasuke and Naruto will form a close bond eventually, while his relationship with Izumi would take time. I certainly don't want to rush that part. From here on forward, Naruto's beliefs are going to be challenged a lot at several stages of his life. Also, the relation between the Kurama and Naruto will take quite some time too.**_

 _ **Please do follow, favorite and review the story, if you come to like it! It will mean a lot.**_

 **Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Unbowed, Unbent and Unbroken**_

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Promise of a lifetime**

* * *

 _ **Few Days Later**_

Three days had passed since the untimely demise of the Uchiha Clan. The news had spread around the village in less than a day and the villagers mourned the loss of one of the founding clans. It came as a tragic news to everyone that it was Itachi Uchiha who had massacred the entire clan in a single night before fleeing the village. Two days after that night, a funeral was held in memory of the lost comrades that had protected the Leaf since it's founding era.

While the village was enveloped in a blanket of grief, there lay two unconscious young boys in a room at the Konoha Hospital. At first glance one may not find anything wrong upon inspecting the two kids, but the medics who had treated them were baffled upon inspecting the state of their mind. It was as if the two kids had shut themselves in their mind after witnessing the horrific deeds of the massacre. There was several medical equipment that were attached to the boys' arms as well as their forehead that showed any change in health.

Suddenly a pair of eyes snapped open and the boy groaned, emphasizing the unease he felt. As a few seconds passed and his mind settled upon his surroundings. Naruto realized that he was indeed in the hospital. He turned his head to the side when he heard some slight shuffling and his gaze landed upon Sasuke. Suddenly memories of that night flooded his mind as a hollow look formed on his face. His breathing momentarily stopped as he remembered the countless dead bodies scattered around the compound. He squeezed his eyes shut to stop the flow of memories, but it just kept coming. He didn't know what to think or what to believe. He turned to Sasuke and saw that he was facing the other direction. Naruto knew that Sasuke had woken up, but no words came out of his mouth. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate and found her chakra. He thanked kami for keeping her alive. At least he still had two people, whom he could call family. Minutes passed by as Naruto kept his eyes glued to the ceiling. Why did it happen? What made him do it? Where did he go? So many questions were forming in his mind, with no answers to them.

"Sasuke…" Naruto finally muttered when he sensed the boy's gaze fall upon him. One look at Sasuke's eyes and Naruto knew how hurt he must have been. He couldn't imagine the sorrow Sasuke must be going through. Meanwhile, Sasuke simply stared at his friend with a dead look in his eyes. The images of Itachi killing his parents repeatedly flowed in his mind. He wanted them to stop, for them to simply disappear from his mind. Despite not having known him for long, Sasuke found himself relieved that Naruto was there beside him. He wasn't alone.

Sasuke remembered hearing from his mother that Naruto grew up as an orphan, being hated by the village. He never understood the meaning behind those words. He himself had seen how the villagers looked at the boy with nothing but disdain on their faces. He never had any friends outside of the clan. For a split second, he wondered what was going through Naruto's mind. Coming to realize you have a family in the village only for it to be taken away, it truly must be appalling to live like that. "I know…" whispered Naruto. Sasuke's eyes widened momentarily on hearing those words. The two looked at each other for a few seconds and simply sighed. There was no need for words. They understood each other and for now that was enough.

Both were brought out of their musing when the door suddenly opened, and two figures walked in. Sarutobi glanced at the two young kids on the bed and a somber look crossed his face. He blamed himself for the situation that Konoha found itself in. An immense amount of guilt washed over his heart as he found himself unable to meet their gaze. Alas, the aged kage knew there was nothing he could do to change the past. He could only hope that the future would not turn out to be as bleak as it may appear to be.

"I see that you two are awake." Stated Sarutobi, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Kakashi, a trusted Anbu of the Sandaime Hokage stood slightly behind, patiently waiting for his leader to finish with the talks.

Seeing his grandfather figure, Naruto got up from his sleeping position to sit on the hospital bed and forced a weak smile on his face. Yet, Sarutobi and Kakashi could easily see the immeasurable pain that hid behind those blue eyes. "What happened, ojisan?" A simple question, yet the Hokage suddenly found his throat dry up at the prospect of answering. Sasuke too intently stared at the Hokage, awaiting his reply.

"I'm afraid to say apart from you two, Izumi Uchiha is the only other survivor of the Uchiha Clan. It has been three days since the night…" Sarutobi started but was promptly interrupted by the white-haired boy. "Where is she, ji-san? Is she doing okay?" Naruto questioned urgently. He could only hope that Itachi had not done anything further to her. Hiruzen smiled weakly on seeing the concerned look on the boy's face. It made him somewhat content. "Hai, Naruto-kun. Do not worry, she's well and at the Uchiha Compound. I assume you had healed her?" inquired Hiruzen. Naruto nodded and sighed in relief to know that piece of information. Even Sasuke released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He had gotten quite close to the girl after many of their training sessions together.

"Now, getting back to where we were…" Hiruzen continued and looked towards Kakashi, who now stepped forward. "Once you two are cleared to leave, you can either decide to live in the Uchiha Compound or I can assign you two an apartment to live in with a monthly stipend. Izumi has already agreed to stay in an apartment outside the compound. She has been moving her belongings into her new apartment since the past day." Hiruzen stated. Sasuke was about to reply but was promptly cut off by Naruto.

"No, jiji. We'll like to stay in the Uchiha Compound." Naruto replied firmly. Sasuke wanted to retort but a quick glance from the Naruto immediately shut him up. Hiruzen nodded, already expecting that answer from the young boy. He turned towards Sasuke to see him nod hesitantly and simply nodded, yet again. The Hokage knew, no words would ever be enough to ease the pain in their heart, but he would be damned if he couldn't at least make sure that the two kids would be looked after. With the loss of the Uchiha Clan, the village too lost a considerable number in their military strength. And Hiruzen knew there would be some factions within the village who would simply love to get their hands on either Naruto, Sasuke or Izumi. Thus, he had to make sure their safety wouldn't be compromised in any way.

"Naruto, I assume you already know who the person beside me is?" Hiruzen questioned with a knowing gaze. Said boy stared at the white-haired jounin for a second and nodded while Sasuke seemed a bit confused. "Kakashi here will be looking after the two of you, at least until you two graduate the academy." Hiruzen said, surprising Naruto and Sasuke. An eerie silence covered the room for a few seconds before Sasuke spoke up.

"Why?" Sasuke demanded with narrowed eyes. He might be fine with staying with Naruto, but he certainly was not willing to put up with a random stranger. Naruto too, stared at Hiruzen expecting an explanation. While he could understand the Hokage's concern to some extent, he didn't wish to be babysit. He may be just a kid, but he had been practically looking after himself, ever since he could remember. Before the Hokage could reply, Kakashi stepped in front to stand before the two kids, gazing at them momentarily and decided upon the course of action. He lifted his forehead protector covering his left eye to show his fully matured transplanted sharingan to them.

Sasuke immediately sat upright and glared at the man. "Where did you get that eye? Sasuke demanded. Kakashi merely chuckled lightly on seeing that glare. 'He certainly has some guts.' He thought. "I got this eye from a friend who sacrificed himself to save me, during the Third great Ninja war. It was his parting gift to me. I may not be an Uchiha like the two of you, but I'm sure I can teach you a lot about the sharingan." Kakashi replied with an eye smile. Naruto nodded, not being able to sense any lie from the man. Sasuke simply grunted and looked the other way. He was not aware of any Uchiha who had given their sharingan to someone outside the clan.

"Kakashi Hatake, huh? Son of Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang?" Naruto thought out loud. Kakashi was a bit shocked that someone so young knew about his father. Hiruzen smiled inwardly upon seeing the calculative look in Naruto's eyes. Those were signs of a budding sharp mind. Even Sasuke raised an eyebrow upon hearing that. He eyed the jounin speculatively and wondered what all the fuss was about.

"That is correct, Naruto." Kakashi answered. The topic of his father had always been a sore subject for him and avoided talking about him, mainly out of guilt. Shaking the depressing thoughts out of his mind, Kakashi took a deep breath to clear his mind. Both Naruto and Sasuke were an Uchiha like Obito and moreover, Naruto was also the adoptive son of his sensei. He felt it was his duty to look after them now. It took quite a lot to convince the Sandaime to let him look after the two kids.

Hiruzen cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. As much as he wanted to spend time with the two kids, he really needed to get back to the office. He groaned internally at the prospect of being surrounded by bundles of paperwork. "As I was saying, once the two of you are discharged, Kakashi will be moving in with the two of you. That is final." Hiruzen stated. Naruto and Sasuke merely nodded, not having the energy to argue with their leader. The Sandaime sighed in relief in his mind. The talk had gone a lot smoother than he anticipated.

"Well, the two you should get some rest. We'll see each other soon enough." Kakashi stated and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Hiruzen could only sigh at the antics of one of his top jounins.

* * *

 _ **Two Days later**_

She sat idly at the sofa of her new apartment; her mind still clouded by the events of the past few days. Izumi knew that she was being a coward, but she couldn't bring herself to meet anyone, not even Naruto and Sasuke. While she was extremely thankful to the heavens that the two kids were still alive, her mind was still not able to accept what had happened. The person she admired the most, the one she wanted to catch up to… the one she loved in secret had massacred the entire Uchiha Clan before fleeing the village. She was vaguely aware of the distrust between the clan and the village but never in her wildest dreams could she have predicted this outcome.

It had been just a day since she had moved all of her stuff from the Uchiha Compound to her new apartment. Luckily, she had been given a week off from shinobi duties considering her circumstances. While she felt a certain amount of hatred towards Itachi, she also couldn't forget the sadness she had witnessed in his eyes that night. Yet again, she cursed herself for feeling so weak. For not having the courage to do anything. Another thing that bothered her was the masked man with the sharingan. While everyone in the village believed that Itachi had single handedly killed the clan, she knew better. She felt powerless against the mangekyo sharingan of that man and it terrified her greatly. That night was the first time she had ever seen those eyes. So engrossed in her own thoughts, she had yet to notice her roommate who had just walked out of her own room.

"Are you okay, Izumi?" asked a purple haired woman, about two years older than the Uchiha kunoichi. Seeing that she had yet to process the question, Yugao shook her friend's shoulders to gain her attention. Startled by the sudden contact, Izumi jerked her head behind her so fast, Yugao had to wonder if her neck was alright. Alas, she made no such comment, upon seeing her distraught look.

"Do you want to talk about it?" the purple-haired woman asked, her voice filled with concern. Yugao herself was an orphan, who had lost her parents at the end of the third great ninja war. While she could somewhat relate to Izumi's pain, she couldn't even begin to understand the true extent of how hurt her friend must be. Izumi merely shook her head, still unable to bring herself to talk about it.

"Why don't you go see how Naruto and Sasuke are doing? You still haven't met up with them. I'm sure they must be worried about you too. And I know for a fact, Naruto would like to meet you. He does always manage to save you… doesn't he?" Yugao teased, with a small knowing smirk. She giggled lightly on seeing the momentary blush on Izumi's face and gave herself a mental pat on the back.

"Yugao-chan, you must not say such things. But I suppose you're right. They are family after all…" Izumi replied softly. She was glad that she had decided to stay with Yugao. Staying in the Uchiha compound would only give her a morbid feeling.

"By the way, did you know that Kakashi-senpai is going to be staying with Naruto and Sasuke at the Uchiha Compound, at least until they graduate the academy. I believe Hokage-sama had ordered him to do so. Even so, it's hard to believe that he would accept such a mission, considering how uncharacteristically lazy he is." Yugao said with a laugh. Izumi's eyes widened on hearing that information.

"So, they did decide to stay at the compound. Can't say that I'm not surprised. At least, Kakashi-san will be there to look after them. Considering the potential of those two as shinobi, I'm not surprised that Hokage-sama has assigned a capable shinobi like him to stay with them." Izumi replied. Yugao nodded, having come to same conclusion. Both kunoichi knew how valuable Sasuke and Naruto were to the village. One was the jinchuriki, while the other was the youngest son of former Uchiha Clan head, Fugaku Uchiha. And considering how close the two of them were to Itachi, it's not farfetched that the two kids would fancy a revenge against the _Kin-slayer_ Itachi. And with Kakashi being considered among the best jounin in Konoha, he'd be perfect to prevent from something like that happening.

"Come on, you should get going. Sitting inside the house all day will do you no good." Yugao encouraged and walked towards the washroom to get ready for the day. Once again, Izumi released a tired sigh, dreading how she would face her remaining two clansmen.

* * *

 _ **Uchiha Compound**_

Naruto and Sasuke sat on the small bridge at the lake in beside the Naka Shrine. Even though the sun shone brightly upon the two of them, their young minds were shrouded in nothing but darkness. The two had been discharged from the hospital last night and were cleared to live in their compound and both were now staying in Sasuke's home, the clan head's house. The Hokage had informed them that Kakashi would be moving in with them in the next few days and the two could begin the academy, from next week.

"He needs to die, Naruto." Sasuke suddenly said, his eyes glued to the calm blue of the lake. There was no anger in that statement, no resentment. It was just plain fact. Naruto glanced towards Sasuke for a good few minutes, as if having an internal struggle with himself. The man whom he called his first friend, someone he even considered a brother had taken away his family. The only people in the village who did not look at him with hatred were now dead because of Itachi. Frankly, he did not know what to feel. All he felt was an empty feeling in his heart.

"Will you help me, Naruto?" Sasuke asked and this time when he turned his face, Naruto could easily observe the deep pit of hatred that was burning in his eyes. He was not surprised to see a single tomoe sharingan in Sasuke's eyes. He himself had awakened his eyes when he had seen Izumi close to death. And what the two of them had witnessed that night was much worse than that.

"Do you know why the villagers hate me Sasuke? Why they always ask the other kids to stay away from me?" Naruto asked, rather quietly as his legs idly swung by the pier. Sasuke was slightly surprised upon hearing the question, but shook his head, nonetheless. He always did wonder about that but couldn't understand what that had to do with Itachi.

The young jinchuriki closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if assuring himself. "Almost eight years ago when the Kyubi no Kitsune had attacked the village, the Yondaime Hokage was not able to kill the bijuu. From what I have learned, bijuus are masses of chakra which cannot be killed. They can only be sealed. The Yondaime Hokage had sealed the Kyubi into an infant…" Naruto stated. Upon hearing every word carefully, Sasuke's eyes widened immensely on understanding the implications. He was about to speak up when Naruto cut him off.

"The Yondaime had sealed the Kyubi into me. I am, what the shinobi world calls a jinchuriki, power of the human sacrifice. Similar to the Kyubi, there are other bijuus, going from Ichibi to Hachibi. I can only assume that those bijuus are also sealed in other people like me." This time, Naruto turned to face Sasuke and he could see the great surprise etched on his friend's face. As realization dawned on Sasuke about the treatment Naruto received from the village, just because the Yondaime decided to seal a bijuu in him, he felt his anger rise. Although, he composed himself upon understanding the unasked question. "To me, you're nothing but Naruto. Someone, who's part of the Uchiha Clan, someone who has gone through the same pain as me, someone who understands me…" Sasuke replied calmly.

"So, tell me Sasuke. What do you think I should do? Should I kill the whole village because of their misguided hatred and make them hate me even more or should I become someone that the villagers cannot help but admire?" Naruto questioned. And for the first time since waking up in the hospital, Sasuke found himself unable to say anything. But he immediately glared at Naruto.

"Itachi killed our whole clan, Naruto. He… he made me see him kill everyone in a genjutsu over and over again until I fell unconscious. He deserves to die for the crimes he committed against the Uchiha Clan. Don't you want to hurt these people for showing you such amount of hatred? Don't you want to get revenge against the people of Konoha?" Sasuke said through gritted teeth, while clenching his fists in anger.

"Oh, I want to. I want to see each one of them burn to the ground…" Naruto stated with narrowed eyes, surprising Sasuke with his words. "But, at the same time, I cannot help but pity them. A great deal of people had perished during the Kyubi attack, eight years ago. You know, I have always been able to sense what people feel in their heart for some reason. And when I do that, I can understand that the villagers are not angry at me, rather their hatred is for the Kyubi. It's just that they don't see the difference between the bijuu and me… yet. But I want to change that. I want the villagers to see me as Naruto Uchiha, a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, not as the Kyubi." Naruto answered truthfully. Once again, Sasuke found himself staring at Naruto dumbfoundedly. He had never heard anyone speak in such a way.

"So, we should just forgive and forget about Itachi?" Sasuke retorted. He may somewhat begin to see Naruto's point of view, but he knew he could not bring himself to forgive Itachi.

"I too, cannot forgive him for what he did, Sasuke. He took away my only family I have ever known. So no, that is not what I'm saying. I just want to know why Itachi did it. He was among the most loyal shinobi of the village. He was one of the few people who looked after me from the shadows and made sure the villagers or any other ignorant shinobi did not take any lethal actions against me as a kid. He was an immensely powerful shinobi and I wouldn't have been surprised if he had been made Hokage too, given some time. So, it just confuses me as to why he would just go and kill our entire clan." Naruto explained and Sasuke could now understand where Naruto's thoughts were heading.

"Then, we'll train hard, everyday from now on. Even more than we used to. We'll surpass Itachi one day and make him pay for killing his kin. Together we'll make the Uchiha Clan great again." Sasuke replied with a determined expression. Hearing Naruto's words had made him understand several things. He didn't have to do everything alone; he didn't have to drown himself in hatred for the sole purpose of killing his brother. His mother had once told him that he was named after Sandaime Hokage's father in hopes that he would one day become a great shinobi like him and make the Uchiha Clan proud. He wanted the world to know that the Uchiha Clan was still the most powerful clan in the world. And he was sure, with Naruto beside him, his dreams would one day become reality.

A smile made his way to Naruto's face upon feeling the determination in Sasuke. Yet, somewhere in his mind he wished that Izumi was here with them. He missed her dearly. And it saddened him that she hadn't come to meet with them yet. "We are not alone, you know. Izumi is also there with us. I'm sure she has also been hurting…" Naruto said softly. Sasuke nodded, his mood a tad bit better than what it was when he woke up.

"You're right. The three of us will rebuild the Uchiha Clan from the ashes and make it even stronger than before." Sasuke commented. "You got it. It's a promise of a lifetime." Naruto replied, giving a bright smile to his brother. Yet behind that smile was pain and hatred much greater than Sasuke could ever comprehend. Naruto knew, he had to remain strong, not only for himself but for Sasuke and Izumi. He knew that his life from now on, would only get tougher. But she was after all, still a kid and was allowed to dream once in a while. Unknown to the two of them, a black crow sitting atop the tallest branch of a tree behind them suddenly took off after hearing the conversation between the two Uchiha boys.

* * *

It was a little past noon, and Izumi now stood outside the gates of the Uchiha Compound. Even though the roads were now cleaned, she could still see the numerous dead bodies of her clansmen lying around. A slight shiver ran through her body as she imagined that masked man to once again come out of that dark portal and attempt to kill her. She immediately shut her eyes close in order to stop such thoughts and took a deep breath. She had to absolutely meet with the two boys and make sure for herself, if they were doing fine or not. Afterall, they were the last embers of the once great dying clan. As she had made her through the village, a lot of people had come to offer their sympathies to her and express their immense sadness upon the loss of her family. She was glad that the villagers were sympathetic, but that was not something she needed from them now. She did not need their pity. She just wished to stand strong and get her life back to normal, as much as she could.

After a few minutes of walk through the compound, she stood at the gates of the clan head's compound, where she assumed Sasuke and Naruto now lived. She was about to knock on the door, when the door suddenly opened to reveal Naruto standing on the other side. Her voice suddenly hitched in her throat as she found herself unable to voice her thoughts.

"Welcome home, Izumi…" Naruto greeted with a small smile. However, she could see the front he was putting up, to mask his true feelings. She didn't know what came over her, but she immediately rushed forward and hugged him tightly, as if afraid that he may disappear at any moment. Few tears cascaded down her beautiful face as she stifled a cry.

"I'm so happy to see that you're okay…" Izumi said in a muffled voice. While surprised by the gesture, he too was glad to finally be able to see her. He had already planned to go look for her in the evening with Sasuke. He patted her back a few times to calm her down. To anyone else it would certainly look a bit strange to see an eight-year-old comforting a thirteen-year-old girl, but Izumi did not care at this moment. A few moments later, the two parted and walked into the house, to sit in the living room.

"Why…?" Izumi asked, looking straight at him. Naruto looked at her in confusion, unable to understand her question.

"What do you mean, Izumi?" Naruto asked, as he tilted his head slightly confusion.

"Why did you save me? I should have died that night, along with the rest of our clan. I don't even know what I should do with my life anymore." Izumi sighed. She didn't know what came over her, asking such questions to one so young. But she understood the fact that Naruto was not a normal kid. He was far more mature and compassionate than people gave him credit for.

"Because you're family. Aren't you supposed to always protect those you care about? That's what you always told me, didn't you?" Izumi's eyes widened slightly on hearing those words. A hollow chuckle escaped her lips at the simple explanation, but she also couldn't help but smile a little. She was so worried on the way to the clan compound; she had made various devastating scenarios of how the meeting would go. She shook her head at her own stupidity. She should have expected that sort of answer from him.

"I… I'm sorry for not visiting you any sooner." She said with a downcast look on her face. "I didn't know how to face the two of you… especially you, Naruto. Sandaime told me that I would have died that night if you hadn't saved me… yet again." Both became quiet for a few minutes once she said that. And Izumi could see that Naruto didn't feel comfortable talking about that night yet.

"Where's Sasuke?" Izumi asked after a few minutes, looking around the house. She assumed he'd be here too, along with Naruto. The two kids had become quite good friends over the past few months.

"He has gone to buy lunch for the two of us. I didn't feel like going into the village as of yet. I don't know how the people may react on seeing my face." Replied Naruto, with a tinge of sadness. Izumi averted her eyes, knowing very well what the young boy meant. "Would you like to stay for lunch? The three of us can then spend some time together?" Naruto asked, hesitantly. He didn't know why he was feeling so nervous in front of her, all of a sudden.

Izumi merely smiled on hearing the question and nodded her head. "I thought you'd never ask!"

* * *

 _ **Author Notes: I know this chapter did not entail much, but I wanted to keep one small chapter just for the aftermath of the Uchiha massacre. As to how Naruto, Sasuke and Izumi will start to pick up their life in the leaf village. As I had stated earlier, the relationship between Izumi and Naruto will not be romantic for quite some time. Naruto and Sasuke still have to grow as characters in this story and the Uchiha Massacre gives them a platform to mature, form their own goals, ideals. Even though it seems Naruto and Sasuke may be taking the death of their clan relatively well, there will come a time when their bottled up feelings will eventually burst. Both of them have a strong personality which makes it hard for people to understand them clearly, in this story. But they will form a bond of brotherhood as they grow up with Kakashi to guide them.**_

 _ **Izumi is a slightly tough character for me to portray, since not much has been shown about her in the manga/anime. But, I'll indefinably try to do justice to her character. As she herself tries to get over the loss of her family, along with Naruto and Sasuke, the three will form an unbreakable bond. Yet, the way Izumi will handle the pain, will b different compared to Naruto and Sasuke. Anyway, the next chapter will feature a time-skip for the progression of the story.**_

 _ **Please follow, favorite and review the story! Now that my spring semester has ended, I can focus entirely on my stories and update them regularly.**_

 **Until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Unbowed, Unbent and Unbroken**_

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Becoming a Genin**

* * *

He abruptly woke up from his sleep, with sweat pouring all over his face. Frantically looking around himself, his racing heart calmed down a bit as Naruto realized it was merely a dream. He clutched his heart as if the motion would miraculously lessen the pain he was feeling. He looked outside the window of his room and noticed the sun had yet to rise and sighed. It had been the same for the past four years.

 _A woman with long silky white hair and eyes as white as the moon, holding a crying infant with the same hair color as his and the same skin complexity as his. She would stare down at the infant like a mother does towards a child and with a wave of her hand, the infant would be asleep._

Every morning he would wake up with a that dream which would momentarily leave him in shambles. There were times when Naruto wondered if the woman was his mother, but he could never be sure. Every day when he woke up, he couldn't even remember the woman's face properly. All he did remember were vague features of the woman's face.

He quietly got out of his bed and adjusted the bedsheet and blankets into their proper place. Stretching himself lightly to get his blood flowing, Naruto made his way to the washroom to fresh up. It was his daily routine. He would wake up, get ready for the day, have light breakfast and go to one of the training grounds in the compound to complete his morning routine. After having a quick bath, Naruto changed into the traditional Uchiha outfit, which consisted of black high collared, long sleeve mantle that split down the lower half and simple light-brown obi with the Uchiha Clan symbol at the back, a brown sash wrapped around his waist, along with brown shinobi sandals. Naruto had let his white hair grow up to his waist over the years, which partly covered his right eye. He now stood at a height of hundred and fifty-four centimeters, which was relatively tall for a twelve-year old.

Once getting dressed, Naruto left his room and began to make his way downstairs. Passing by Sasuke's room, a small smile formed on his face upon seeing the sleeping form of his brother. Over the past four years, he had become immensely close to him. Both had helped each other cope with the loss of their family but Naruto knew how much of an influence he was on his little brother. It was seldom that Sasuke referred to Naruto as nii-san, but the white-haired boy found it extremely endearing in a way. Their relationship as brothers wasn't confined to the general norms of blood, but it far exceeded than that. That was one of the reasons why it hurt him so much to hide his true feelings from Sasuke and Izumi, for that matter. He blinked in surprise when he suddenly found himself in the training ground, realizing how immersed he must have been in his thoughts.

'I still have about three more hours until I need to be at the academy.' Naruto thought, sitting on the ground in a meditative position. As he began molding his chakra, Naruto felt himself becoming one with the nature as he started to feel every living creature around himself. He was sure, if he really concentrated, he could feel the entirety of the world around himself. It often scared him how different he was compared to others. The strength of his chakra, his reserves, his ability to utilize ninjutsu without any hand seals, his chakra control… in a word it was simply inhuman. At least that's how Kakashi had described it to him.

Both Sasuke and him had learned a lot under the tutelage of Sharingan no Kakashi. Although, he wasn't much surprised that Sasuke had yet to take much liking to their sensei. Sasuke considered it an affront to see someone outside of their clan wielding their doujutsu. Having a sharingan was proof that one had Uchiha blood running through their veins, but that was not the case for Kakashi. But, he himself did not seem to mind Kakashi's presence that much. Hatake was someone who had taught him a great deal over the years; about being a shinobi, their purpose in life and regarding the shinobi world in general. He considered Kakashi to be a man of honor and would give him the respect he deserved. As he calmed his breathing even more, he felt himself getting pulled into his mindscape.

Once again, Naruto found himself standing before the large gates which kept the Kyubi at bay. It had become something of a habit for him to talk to the overgrown fox, at least once a day. "What do you want Kyubi?" asked Naruto, deciding to sit down on the ground which seemed to be filled with water up to his ankle, yet never once did he get wet.

" **Well, what I want is to be free from this wretched cage.** " Grumbled Kyubi, staring down at Naruto. The boy had certainly piqued his interest over the years. If there was one thing the fox respected, it was power. And the boy before him had an abundance of it, more so than anyone he had ever seen before.

"Have you simply called to mock me?" Naruto asked, keeping a neutral look on his face. He may not have anything against the fox per say, but he was far from being friends with the bijuu.

The fox merely scoffed and narrowed his eyes at the Otsutsuki descendant. " **How long are you planning to hide behind that mask of yours? It may fool everyone else around you, but not me.** " The Kyubi stated as a matter of fact. Naruto's calm blue eyes instantly morphed into the three tomoe sharingan which bore deep into the soul of the Kyubi. The red eyes of the Uchiha Clan had always unsettled the Kyubi more than anything in his long existence. He knew the power behind those eyes, which originated from his father, but this kid's eyes sent shivers down it's spine. He hadn't felt this much power even from _him._

"Patience Kyubi. It is not yet time. When the time comes, you will get what you wish. There is still so much I have yet to learn about this world. After all, there is only so much I can do by staying in this village." Naruto replied patiently. The Kyubi's nine tails swung wildly behind it upon hearing the same answer as every single time and roared at the child in front of him. There were times, even the great Kyubi no Kitsune had trouble reading the child and it irked him greatly. But there was only so much the bijuu could do trapped within this cage. He cursed the Yondaime for using the Hakke no Fuin Shiki. And with half of it's chakra trapped inside the Shinigami's gut; he was severely weakened to break free of this cage on it's own.

" **You have company outside…** _ **Uchiha**_ **.** " The Kyubi warned with a waning voice, before retreating back into the darkness of the cage. Naruto merely sighed as he too had felt Kakashi's chakra signature, approaching him. Opening his eyes, Naruto stood up from the ground and a few seconds later, Kakashi appeared in sight, already dressed in his jounin uniform.

"Ah, Naruto… as expected you're here. Woke up early again, I see." Kakashi commented with an eye smile. The white-haired jounin had not changed much over the years, but training with Naruto and Sasuke over the years, he himself had improved by leaps and bound. While a few years ago he was a solid A-Rank shinobi, he could now hold himself well against a S-class shinobi and Kakashi was quite proud of that fact. But watching the two kids grow over the years under his tutelage had filled him with pride. He couldn't have asked for a better long-term assignment. Sasuke was an absolute genius when it came to ninjutsu, shuriken jutsu and his taijutsu had come along exceptionally well. However, he could never fully gauge Naruto's strength. Kakashi was sure the kid could put up a good fight against any jounin if Naruto so wished. Be it ninjutsu, taijutsu, shurikenjutsu or genjutsu, Naruto was a natural in all those areas. The only area where he could definitely beat Naruto was in kenjutsu, but that was only because the boy had never really taken time to train himself in that shinobi art.

While he was immensely proud of his student, he hadn't failed to notice the gradual change in the two over the years. It was minimal, but it was there. While Sasuke had always been reserved when in the presence of others, Naruto had become quieter too. He could never really pin-point what the kid was thinking but then again, the two had never given him or the Hokage any reason to judge their loyalties.

"You know me sensei. It's my morning routine after all." Naruto replied with a slight smile. "So, what are you going to be doing today? Going on another mission, are you?" questioned Naruto casually.

"Hai, that is correct. Sandaime-sama will be travelling outside the village for a few days tomorrow and I need to make all the preparations for the journey, since I am one of the shinobi that'll be guarding him." Kakashi replied. It was no secret to the entire village that at this point, Kakashi was Hiruzen's most trusted shinobi. Even more so than the Anbu or Jounin Commander. Naruto was sure, if anything were to happen to the Hokage, Kakashi would be next in line to become the Godaime Hokage. Even though he had been told about the Sannin of Konohagakure no Sato, he did not have much information about them to form an opinion yet. But he did hope to meet Jiraiya and Tsunade one day, seeing as how only those two were still loyal to the village.

"So, do you want to have a spar?" Kakashi asked as a way to pass some time. He didn't need to be at the gate until sometime and even then, most people expected him to be late by a couple of hours. That simple fact always got a chuckle out of Naruto.

"Nah, not today, sensei. I think, I'll rest. We have our graduation test at the academy today anyway. So, I think I will just meditate and relax." Naruto said and Kakashi simply nodded. While he knew it was a lie, considering how Naruto never really seemed to run out of energy, he had no right to question him. It saddened him a little that he had not managed to form a close bond with Naruto and Sasuke as he had initially hoped. The two boys always seemed to be a bit secretive, but Kakashi made sure to give them their space.

* * *

 _ **About three hours later**_

It was around eight in the morning and Naruto along with Sasuke were walking towards the academy dressed in their shinobi gear. While Sasuke wore dark-blue high collared long-sleeve shirt with mesh armor underneath, dark-blue pants and brown shinobi sandals, Naruto also wore the same outfit but in black color along with the addition of fingerless gloves on his hand. As the two walked through the busy street of the village, many of the villagers greeted them politely, while some threw disapproving or looks of hatred towards Naruto. Paying no attention to them, the two calmly continued on their way. They had long past learnt to ignore the villagers of Konoha.

After a few minutes of walking, they reached their destination and made their way towards their classroom.

"Are they still following us?" whispered Sasuke, with a slight annoyed look. Naruto chuckled lightly and nodded. "I believe so. It's sad how these girls choose to follow their love interest more than their kunoichi training. I don't think any of them will ever be cut out to become full-fledged kunoichi later in their life." Replied Naruto with a shake of his head. Some distance behind the two Uchihas, a horde of fangirls _secretly_ followed their love interests from the Uchiha Compound to the Konoha Academy. It had become a daily occurrence since Naruto and Sasuke had joined the academy after the Uchiha massacre. Leading the group of fangirls were Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura, who were considered the loudest girls in their class.

Once Naruto and Sasuke entered the class, they made their way to their regular seat which was on the far right, at the top. As usual, Nara Shikamaru pretended to be asleep in the front seat with Akimichi Choji beside him, munching on his chips. Behind them sat, Inuzuka Kiba with his ninken, Akamaru, while Aburame Shino sat beside him. Beside the Aburame and Inuzuka sat the Hyuga Clan's heiress, Hyuga Hinata. Naruto always seemed to be puzzled by Hinata's behavior, seeing as how she always turned beet red in his presence and on several occasions, he found her falling unconscious. Though he never commented on that, he wished the girl portrayed more self-confidence. Sasuke seldom teased him with the fact that Hinata might have a crush on him, but he always rebuffed that saying it was just his imagination.

While Naruto was on good terms with Shikamaru, Choji and Shino, he never really seemed to get along much with Kiba. That was mainly due to the fact that Kiba always found himself jealous of Naruto's and Sasuke's strength as shinobi. In all the spars conducted in the academy, Kiba had never once managed to defeat Sasuke or Naruto. A few moments later, all the students sans Naruto and Sasuke turned their attention towards the door when loud footsteps could be heard approaching. Seconds later, the door to the classroom abruptly opened with two loud voices echoing throughout the room.

"Ha! I win Ino pig!" yelled Sakura triumphantly. Ino glared at her friend who seemed lost in her own dream world.

"You wish. My foot is slightly ahead of yours. The only reason you think you won is because of your large forehead." Ino retorted, causing Sakura to glare back at her. The pink-haired girl huffed in response and made her way to her beloved Sasuke, hoping to score a date with him after the graduation exam. Naruto still found it laughable and even disbelieving that Sakura was the top kunoichi in their batch.

Sakura happily walked towards the two Uchiha and stopped before their seat. "Sasuke-kun, may I sit next to you?" she asked and could clearly see a tinge of pink shade spread over her cheeks. As usual, Sasuke gave outward reply and kept his eyes seemingly locked towards the trees outside the window. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the girl's persistence. If anything, that was probably the only aspect he would commend her about.

"And, what's so funny, Naruto?" Sakura glared at the white-haired boy. Her mom had often asked her to stay away from Naruto when younger, stating that the kid was nothing but trouble. And as a good girl that she believed she was, Sakura had taken that teaching to heart. Although, ever since it became public knowledge that Naruto was an Uchiha, her mom had stopped saying such things. It didn't matter to her though. Her eyes were always on Sasuke.

"It's nothing really, Sakura. Don't you get tired of getting no reply from him? I mean, its been the same for the past four years. Maybe you should look for someone else…" Naruto replied with a shrug. It was at this point that Naruto felt a slight shiver run up his spine, upon hearing a voice from behind Sakura.

"You should listen to Naruto-kun, forehead. He's the smartest and the strongest genin in our batch. There's no one else like him." Ino said with a smirk which left Sakura fuming in anger. Sasuke smirked slightly hearing Ino's voice. If he had to go through a fangirl like Sakura, he believed it was only fair that Naruto had one like Ino, who was just as annoying, according to him.

"Eh, Ino-chan, I think Iruka-sensei and Izumi-sensei are about to walk into the classroom any moment. I wouldn't want him to be yelling at the class again, you know, considering its our last day as academy students." Naruto said politely. He had no qualms against her or Sakura. It was true he disliked their attitudes, but he didn't wish to be rude. Ino blushed a little on being called so affectionately and simply nodded. Sakura beside her could only sigh and wished at least Sasuke spoke to her from time to time. Nonetheless, the two girls took the seat behind their crush and a few seconds later walked in Iruka and Izumi, carrying several sheets of papers.

Naruto and Sasuke smiled slightly upon seeing Izumi, especially the white-haired Uchiha. She had grown immensely beautiful in the past four years and was also considered among the most promising kunoichi in Konoha. Her brown hair had grown up to her waist with bangs framing the right side of her face. Her onyx eyes still portrayed the kindness which it held when he met her for the first time, and he was glad that she had begun to heal. She now wore sleeveless, high collared dark blue shirt with the Uchiha Clan symbol at the back, skin-tight dark-blue pants, a shuriken holster on her right leg, a red armband on her left arm and a long navy colored fingerless glove that ran nearly the length of her arm.

 _Flashback_

" _You need to do better than that Naruto. Keep your stance firm when you do decide to take a hit from an enemy. I may not be a match for you when it comes to ninjutsu, but I can still kick your ass in taijutsu." Izumi commented. A ten-year old Naruto and a fifteen-year old Izumi stood at training ground thirty-three for their weekly training session together, while Sasuke lay beside them, drenched in sweat. However, it was not to say that Naruto wasn't in a similar condition._

" _I know, but with the sharingan, isn't it easier to simply touch and deflect and go for an attack?" Naruto asked, huffing lightly. He had been having a sparring match with Izumi the past one hour, always staying on the defensive. The main goal of this exercise was for him to increase his endurance in the midst of battle. While he already did have extraordinary stamina, his body was not used to taking several hard blows in quick succession. While Kakashi mainly focused him on ninjutsu and genjutsu, he always went to Izumi for taijutsu training. In his eyes, Izumi was a master in Uchiha's taijutsu style, even better than Itachi._

" _While that may be true, but there are people who have learned to fight against an Uchiha's taijutsu style. Might Guy, is one such guy. He's considered to be the taijutsu specialist of Konoha. And some say, he's as dangerous as an opponent like Tsunade-sama and Yondaime Raikage when it comes to taijutsu. While I may not be as strong as them, I can hit pretty hard." Izumi stated, with a proud smile. She did always feel disheartened that she wasn't as proficient in ninjutsu or genjutsu compared to someone like Naruto, Sasuke or even Itachi. But, taijutsu was right up her alley._

" _Now, you're just showing off…" Naruto snorted and immediately had to jump aside to dodge several kunais thrown by Izumi, who had an eye twitching. Naruto simply laughed and stared at the girl before him, who ranted about how kids like him should know their place and be grateful for the advices. It was only a few seconds in the real world, but Naruto felt as if he had been gazing at that beautiful face for hours. He blinked suddenly at thought and found himself blushing lightly._

 _Izumi too noticed the slight blush on his face and a mischievous smirk formed on her face. "Thinking about a girl, are you? Tell me… tell me!" Izumi chirped._

" _No, it's nothing like that…" Naruto stated, after composing himself. Izumi visibly deflated on that remark but decided to pester him about it later._

 _Flashback end_

Naruto quickly shook his head when he found himself staring at the girl for a little too long. He knew he cared deeply about her, more so than he would care to admit. Although, he could never really sort those feelings out, hence, did not ponder on them too much. Unknown to the white-haired Uchiha kid, Ino had noticed the brief moment and glared at their sensei. She unknowingly glared at their sensei and could not understood why Naruto was so infatuated with her. It was so obvious to everyone other than Naruto and Izumi.

Once all the students had settled down in the presence of their academy teachers, Iruka stepped forward. "Well, students…" Iruka started and looked around the class once to make sure everyone was indeed present for the graduation exam. "… I'm glad all of you have managed to survive the academy up until now and I hope that everyone is ready for the graduation exam." Iruka stated with a smile. This had been his first batch in the Konoha academy and to say that he was proud would be an understatement. He did have his qualms initially about teaching the Kyubi jinchuriki, but he had been proved wrong. Out of all the students, he had been most surprised by Naruto's growth as a shinobi up to this point. Although that's not say that he isn't proud of his other students.

"Izumi-sensei will now be distributing the papers for the written part of the exam and then we'll move onto shuriken jutsu, taijutsu and finally ninjutsu. I wish all of you the best of luck for your exams." Iruka concluded and immediately after that, Izumi went to each desk and began giving the question paper to every student.

Once she had reached Naruto and Sasuke's desk, she gave the two a small smile. "I know you two will graduate at the top of the academy this year. I'm extremely proud of you two." She whispered and the two kids nodded in exchange, showing their gratitude. "Oh, and Naruto, ramen is on me tonight, alright?" She said and Sasuke facepalmed on hearing that. The only thing greater than Naruto's strength was his appetite for ramen. Naruto nodded vigorously, already imagining the number of bowls he would get to eat.

"You better keep your word, _Izumi-chan_!" Naruto replied slyly and for a mere moment the Uchiha kunoichi wished she could take her words back, but it was already too late. She simply sighed looking at Naruto's ramen obsessed face and continued on her way down, once she had given the papers to everyone.

* * *

 _ **Two hours later, At the Hokage's Office**_

Hiruzen could be seen sitting at his desk in the Hokage's office while several jounin sensei were bickering on which of them would get to teach the two Uchihas graduating from their academy. He was glad that at least Asuma and Kurenai had their priorities straight considering they already had their students on mind which did not involve either Naruto or Sasuke. He sighed, knowing those kids were more trouble than worth in some cases.

The fact that Kakashi had already taught Naruto and Sasuke over the past four years and then demanded to be their jounin sensei did not sit well with some of the other jounins. It was no big secret in the village that the two prospective Uchiha genins were extremely promising as shinobi and pretty much every sensible jounin sensei wanted to have a hand in their growth. While some were in it for fame, others like Genma Shirunai and Aoba wished to teach Naruto because of the Yondaime. Both of those jounins were personal bodyguards of Minato Namikaze and as such knew of Naruto's parentage.

Having heard enough, Hiruzen cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, but no one seemed to do. Kakashi chuckled behind his mask at the blatant disrespect the shinobi were showing to their Kage. A tick mark formed on the old Kage's face, seeing as how people were still bickering utter nonsense before him.

" **Enough!** " Hiruzen yelled, in his powerful voice while also flaring his chakra slightly. That seemed to have done the trick as silence immediately reigned in the room and everyone turned to look at the Sandaime with their heads bowed. Hiruzen smiled inwardly at still being able to instill some fear into his shinobi. He shuddered for a moment when he realized at the similarity of his thoughts with Danzo.

"I have already made my decision. Genma, Aoba and Ebisu, while I'm glad you three wish to teach Naruto and Sasuke as genins, it will simply not be possible. Those two… are special cases. More so than you realize…" Hiruzen said and raised his hand to stop the three from saying anything further. "I cannot go into the details as of yet since it concerns the security of the village. But, I can only trust Kakashi with this task, since he has a closer understanding of what he's dealing with." Hiruzen stated firmly.

Genma narrowed his eyes upon hearing the Hokage's explanation. "Hiruzen-sama, with all due respect, I was once part of the Yondaime Hokage's personal bodyguard, along with Aoba. You should know, as a jounin of Konohagakure no Sato, I would never do anything to jeopardize the village's security." The jounin stated respectfully. Aoba nodded too, indicating his agreement with his friend.

"While that may be true Genma, I still cannot allow it. Let me give you a scenario. Suppose you're outside the village with your genin team on a mission and you're ambushed by Itachi Uchiha or someone on the same level as him, what is it that you'll do? I'm sure you'll put up an impressive fight, but at the end it will end in your death. I am not questioning your abilities as a shinobi but at the moment, Kakashi and Gai are the only S-Rank shinobi we have among our jounin. Even apart from Itachi Uchiha, there will be hostile nations such as Kumogakure or Iwagakure who would love to get their hands on the sharingan. And with Might Guy already having a genin team, Kakashi is the most appropriate choice to lead them." Hiruzen explained calmly. A look of realization formed on the three jounin's face upon hearing such reasons. No one had forgotten the tragedy of the Uchiha massacre. It was among the darkest moments in the history of Konoha and no one wished to go through something like that ever again.

The Sandaime Hokage sighed in relief when no further protests were made regarding the issue at hand. Kakashi was simply glad that Hiruzen had managed to calm everyone down and that the decision had gone in his favor, not that he was much worried. Even he knew that out of all the jounins, only Gai, Asuma or him had a realistic chance of coming out unscathed in a fight against a S-Rank shinobi. It wasn't arrogance but confidence. All of the jounins apart from Asuma, Kurenai and Kakashi bowed to their leader and left the room.

"Now, you three already know which students are going to be in your team. The exams should be ending within the next two hours and I hope none of you will be late to pick up your teams." Hiruzen stated and gazed at the white-haired jounin from the corner of his eyes.

"Hai, Hai… you do not need to remind me Hokage-sama. I will be punctual, this time around at least." Kakashi replied with an awkward chuckle. Everyone stared at Kakashi dumbly which made the jounin shrink down under their scrutinizing gaze. Anyhow, once the matter was settled, everyone left the office to wait out for the completion of the graduation test.

* * *

 _ **At the Academy, about an hour later**_

The students were now standing in the training ground awaiting Iruka to call out their names in pair for the taijutsu test. The written part and shuriken/kunai throwing test had gotten over just a while back. Unsurprisingly most had managed to perform extremely well, scoring above seven points out of the ten in general. The only ones who had managed to score less were Shikamaru and Sakura, who had scored five and six points respectively. As expected, it was of no surprise that Naruto and Sasuke were the only ones who had scored ten points each in the test.

"Shikamaru and Choji, come forth. You're up first." Iruka called looking at the sheet on his hand. The Nara heir lazily moved forward and stepped into the ring, followed by Choji who appeared to be a little nervous. For the taijutsu part of the test, Mizuki was the proctor, who had been overseeing the taijutsu of academy students. He and Iruka had joined the academy as instructors at the same time and had been good friends for a long time, since their own academy days. While Iruka oversaw the theoretical aspect of being a shinobi and Izumi being the instructor for shuriken and kunai jutsu, Mizuki had been appointed by the Hokage for taijutsu.

Mizuki stood in the middle of two students and glanced at the two once before saying, "Hajime!"

Moments passed by, but none of them got into a fighting stance or even moved a muscle. While Shikamaru stood lazily with his hands stuffed in his pockets, Choji nervously looked at his childhood friend.

"What are you guys doing!? Come on, fight! It's a taijutsu spar after all." Ino yelled from the side, but it only made Choji look down towards the ground. Some of the civilian students snickered upon seeing the nervousness etched on Choji's face which made Iruka frown and Izumi frown. She never did like when students made fun of each other's weaknesses. She had an idea as to what was troubling the plump kid.

"Sensei, I don't want to hurt him, he's my friend…" Choji whispered, under his breath, but Iruka had heard him clearly.

"But, Choji, it's a friendly shinobi spar. This tradition has been going on since the time of the Shodaime Hokage." Iruka said. He always did worry about Choji's gentle nature, but he also knew deep inside of him was an intense desire to protect those close to him.

"Eh, Iruka sensei, the main point is for one to win right? If I step outside of this ring, Choji automatically wins and none of us has to go through this troublesome exercise." Shikamaru stated calmly. And before any of the instructors could say anything, the Nara boy simply stepped outside the circle, making Choji the winner by default. Choji smiled widely on hearing Shikamaru's words and couldn't be more grateful to have a friend like him. Even Mizuki could only sigh at the antics of these students. Sometimes he wondered, how much longer would he have to bear to look at these faces. While Iruka stared at his students dumbly, Izumi had to suppress her urge to giggle. She should have expected something of this sort from Shikamaru. The kid was really smart for his age, but rarely did he ever show it.

One by one, more students were called upon for their spars and fortunately none of the others pulled a stunt like Shikamaru and Choji. Ino was slightly put off her friend's acts but soon reverted to her normal self after a while. By far the most amusing spar was between Ino and Sakura, which seemed more like two kittens fighting each other in an all-out sprawl. Due to them focusing more on their looks, they had neglected the physical aspect of being a shinobi and as such gave a rather weak display of taijutsu. While their stances for the taijutsu katas taught at the academy might have been correct, they lacked any real strength behind their punches and kicks.

'Such a pathetic display. I could have probably beaten them when I was six years old…' Sasuke thought absent mindedly. Glancing towards his brother, Naruto could easily read what Sasuke was thinking about and to some extent he agreed. But he also believed one's rise in strength comes from their own desire. And to be frank, Naruto did not believe that most of them had any real reason to progress their strength. Sasuke and him were strong because they had a goal in mind for which they needed to become stronger. Not for their own sake, but for the sake of their clan.

"Now, for the last match, Naruto Uchiha and Kiba Inuzuka. Please come forward." Iruka called out and suddenly everyone became quiet. The one-sided rivalry between the two was the talk of their batch. Many a times, Kiba had challenged Naruto to a fight, only to be beaten effortlessly by the Uchiha.

"Today, I will show you who's the top dog here, Uchiha." Kiba commented with his usual cocky smirk and stepped into the ring. Naruto sighed at his classmate's antics and he too, walked ahead to stand opposite to the Inuzuka. Mizuki may not show it openly but he never did like the Kyubi jinchuriki. He always viewed him as a nuisance who should be put down and could not comprehend why the Hokage would allow someone like him to become a shinobi. Nonetheless, he stepped between the two and called for the start of the match.

Naruto calmly stood in his place, with a loose stance. His right leg slightly ahead of his left and his arms bent upward, motioning for Kiba to come forth. "Show me what you've got." Was all Naruto said, before Kiba rushed forward.

Aiming a punch straight to Naruto's face, the Uchiha promptly got out of the way, by jumping to his left. Before Kiba could follow through, Naruto jabbed him in the joints, in his elbow harshly, which made Kiba flinch. Naruto then followed up with another punch aimed at his chest, but Kiba immediately bent down to avoid the blow. However, as he did so, he had to raise his arms up to block a hit from Naruto's knee, which pushed him back quite a bit. Wasting no time, Naruto suddenly disappeared from Kiba's view and the next thing he knew was falling onto the ground unconscious as Naruto appeared behind him and hit him in the back of his neck. It all happened so quick that no one other than Izumi or Sasuke could follow Naruto's movements. And that too was only because they had trained with Naruto on a regular basis. Iruka, Mizuki and rest of the students were yet again surprised at the speed displayed by the white-haired Uchiha.

Naruto simply walked past the unconscious Kiba and went to stand beside Sasuke who just gave a nod in return. Izumi felt slightly bad for the Inuzuka heir, but she had to agree that Kiba had displayed no real form of taijutsu and fought more like a street brawler. Although, she did not expect anything less than Naruto. He was ruthless when it came to spars and would give his enemies no time to recover from a hit.

"uhm… Naruto wins." Mizuki declared, a bit disturbed by the strength displayed by Naruto. However, this also gave him an opportunity to put his plans in motions. Once Iruka had noted down all the results on his sheet and gone through it again, he ushered everyone to go inside the classroom and wait for their names to be called for the ninjutsu exam.

About fifteen minutes later, Izumi came into the room and began calling the students in pair to go into another room for the final test of the graduation exam. The test would be overseen by Iruka and the Sandaime Hokage himself, to determine the quality of the prospective genins. The ninjutsu part of the graduation exam generally consisted of three simple jutsus- Henge no jutsu, Bunshin no jutsu and Kawirami no jutsu. A student needed to perform all three perfectly in order to graduate as a genin. As the time slowly passed, everyone who had gone into the other room, came back smiling, along with a forehead protector with the symbol of Konoha etched on it. It was proof that they had qualified the exams and were now genins, ready to protect and die, in the name of their village.

 _However, the cost at which most of them would understand the true meaning of being a shinobi would be too heavy for them to bear._

Once the graduation test was completely over, Iruka and Izumi stood before the class with large smile on their faces. Izumi had always wished to help other people. It was something she had inherited from her father. And watching these kids grow over the years and preparing them for the outside world to the best of her abilities was something she had enjoyed thoroughly. Iruka too was having similar feelings course through his mind, which could be easily noticeable by the happiness that was radiating from his face.

Getting his mind back together, Iruka chuckled when he saw the eager faces of some of the genins, waiting to hear the results of the test. Wasting no time, he took a sheet of paper from Izumi, which listed the scores of every student in the three different parts of the exam. Although, he was not much surprised to see the two names at the top on each list.

"Naruto Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha have been tied for the position of Rookie of the Year and Sakura Haruno has been given the position of kunoichi of the year." Iruka stated out loud. While none of the students were surprised about Naruto and Sasuke, the pink haired girl jumped out of her seat and yelled in joy.

"I did it! I am best kunoichi in our batch after all! And now, I'll definitely be on the same team as Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screeched and many students had to cover their ears to cancel out the horrifying noise. Even Naruto and Sasuke had somewhat solemn looks on their faces at the prospect of being placed on the same team as Sakura.

"I have to say at least Ino is not as annoying or loud as Sakura…" Naruto whispered to Sakura, who could only nod. While Ino did have fangirl tendencies, having come from a respected clan such as the Yamanaka, the ways of the shinobi were instilled into her since birth. At least the blond girl knew to keep herself calm in certain scenarios. "I'd rather have Ino on our team than Sakura…" Sasuke commented. Meanwhile, Ino and Sakura had yet again gotten into a bickering contest about who would get to be on the same team as their beloved crush. Even Izumi stared at the two kunoichis dumbly, really questioning their reasons to be shinobi, but she hoped that with time, their eyes would be opened to the harsh reality of the shinobi world. It wasn't that she wished for the two girls to go through the same pain as her, but everyone needed discipline in their life.

One person who was not amused by the display before him was of course, Iruka. A large tick mark formed on his head as he continued listening to the absurd conversation between the two girls.

"SHUT UP, YOU TWO! And wait for me to finish!" Iruka yelled at the top of his voice, jerking the two girls and everyone out of their thoughts. Sakura and Ino at promptly shut their mouth and took seat, not wanting to enrage Iruka any further. He waited for a few minutes and once he noticed everyone was paying rapt attention towards him, he smirked slightly and continued.

"Remember, no matter what happens from here on out, you'll always be my students and can come to me for anything you may need. I'm proud to have been your teacher over the past four years. Now from here on, all of you will be divided into four-man squads, consisting of three genins and one jounin sensei. Everyone understand?" Iruka stated loudly. All the students nodded; now finally assimilating the fact that they'll have to live completely different lives.

This time, it was Izumi who stepped forward and looked at the sheet in her hand. "Now as for the team formation, team 1 will be…" she continued. As she kept reading the names small cheers could be heard among the students as some of them were placed with their friends and while some moaned at the fact they were not.

"Team 7 will be Naruto Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha and Ino Yamanaka. Your jounin sensei will be Kakashi Hatake."

* * *

 _ **Author Notes: I believe some may feel that Naruto's personality may have changed over the years, but it's bound to happen a little bit. Both him and Sasuke have matured in the last four years. Their time with Kakashi in those 4 years will definitely be shown in bits and pieces as flashbacks over the course of this story, during appropriate moments.**_

 _ **I personally do like Ino as a character in the manga/anime and I also believe she has a lot of potential as a shinobi. I don't personally hate Sakura but I never did like her character. But, that is not to say I will trash her completely as a character in this story.**_

 _ **Naruto does begin to have some sort of feeling towards Izumi, but he will take time to realize the importance of those feelings since currently his main goal is on something else. And the time will come soon when he will come to know the truth about himself. I recently read the chapter 35 for Boruto manga and I found the segment about the Otsutsuki Clan in it extremely interesting and I believe I can definitely incorporate something along those lines in this story too. Naruto and Sasuke's growth as shinobi in terms of their strength will surely be displayed in the next chapter too.**_

 _ **Now, as someone in the review section had pointed out the fight that took place between Naruto and Root Anbu. And , no, I have not forgotten about it. Now that Naruto has become an official shinobi of Konoha, Danzo can approach him more easily I believe. Even though, Danzo has no real power in the working of Konoha on paper, he still has his ways. The only thing I can say is, Danzo and Naruto will meet each other soon enough, in one of the next few chapters.**_

 _ **I will also be updating my other two stories soon enough. They are already under work.**_

 _ **Please follow, favorite and review the story! It pleases me to know that the story is to most people's liking! I hope to continue doing so!**_

 **Until next time!**


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